The Priest of Zero
by Leo Novum
Summary: When Louise finally summons her familiar, it is revealed to be a very mangled Kotomine Kirei. Fanfic up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One: In which the narrator begins explaining meaninglessly while most people skip to the good part. **_

The Root of all existence can be compared to a vast database of every possible timeline of the universe's recording in a crystallized form. Also known as the Akashic Records, it is the eternal quest of magi to reach for this impossible goal. And why should they do it? By obtaining such a powerful source of knowledge, they would effectively no longer be required to struggle through their lives as humans but would reach new heights.

However, the focus of this story is not a quest for the Root. Indeed, the Root plays only a minor role in this story considering that it only serves as a recording function in this narration of events.

As the Wizard Marshall Zelretch is aware, there exist countless version of the same universe. Ever since the beginning of time, every single action has caused a splitting of the world lines and thus created alternate copies of the universe. These actions are not limited to sentient beings only. All matter and energy falls into this category.

There exists a universe where life never existed on Earth. It was simply a barren mass of soil which revolved around the sun.

There exists a universe where prokaryotes never developed nuclei. For those who are unfortunately not conversant with the various terminology of biology, think of it as an advanced step in evolution.

There exists a universe where dinosaurs were still the major life form of Earth.

There exists a universe where Nazis won the war. Scratch that. There are plenty of universes where Nazis won the war. Fortunately, our story does not focus on them although if you are curious about them, you won't be hard pressed to discover the events of their reign.

There is a universe where humanity became so dependent on magic that it became their defining aspect.

And then there was this universe, where magecraft itself was rife, however it was limited only to the nobles of that land.

Six Thousand years ago, in the continent of Halkeginia, a young man named Brimir Ru Rumiru Yuru Viri Vee Varutori established magecraft in his land, taming it and subsequently harnessing it permanently in the form of five elements. This magecraft was different from Wild Magic, the byproduct of nature, or Ancient Magic, the arcane art of elves. While weaker to Ancient Magic and not even comparable to Wild Magic, Magecraft had the slight advantage of being more stable. It had taken Brimir several years of experimenting to finally bind it in a permanent and safe form, a form which would not recoil or kill its own wielder. The pains, sweat and tears that had been invested in such a daunting task had finally paid off.

Alas, Brimir's and his apprentice's descendants had long since taken magecraft for granted, wielding this terrifying power lightly, using it to bully non magicians into subjection and for petty purposes. Most of the magicians, or more properly known as nobility, had long forgotten the miracle of even being able to use magecraft. One could even say that they had grown soft and dependant, like tamed mountain goats who forget the fear of the wild.

But even mountain goats are better than nobles, for at least they, being animals, can rely on their instinct. Nobles, being overly dependent on magic and the hard work of commoners, were nothing without their magic. Absolutely nothing. All that would remain if one stripped them of their supernatural power was their own bodies and mountain sized egos.

However, the possibility of that happening was close to zero and was thus not worth considering. We would find it more to our liking if we focused on the affairs of nobility in the present era, that is, nearly six thousand years after Brimir. As mentioned above, most of the nobles had long forgotten the value of the gift their ancestor had bestowed upon them.

Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere, however, was not most nobles.

She was a member of the Valliere family, no surprises there really, which was in turn related to the Royal Family of Tristain by blood. Although said relation was quite dilute since it was a family founded by the illegitimate son of one of the previous Kings of Tristain. However, the Valliere family was not foolish enough to simply place their faith in this relation. They were a family that wielded political power, military might, natural talent in magecraft and were also one of the richest noble families in Tristain.

And despite all that and her overly long and proud name, one certain Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere was vastly different from other nobles.

It was not due to her being humble about her origins. Far from it, Louise actually flaunted her pedigree.

It was not due to her family's political influence for fear that that inciting the students might actually cause a crisis. There had been enough of that already. The end results of such squabbles either ended in embarrassing fiascos or bloody feuds.

It was also not due to her wealth since each and every one of her peers was wealthy enough. Wealth was secondary to political power. Wealth alone did not signify one's rank, unless one was in Germania where titles could be purchased provided that one was wealthy enough.

No, the reason our story's heroine was different was because-

BOOM!

As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, the reason Louise was so different from other nobles was that she was absolutely talentless in magic.

A commoner born among nobles.

The talentless magician.

The Zero.

Yes, she was absolutely-

BOOM!

Since it seems that I am absolutely unable to continue my narration from here on, I offer you, dear reader, to continue the story from another angle.

* * *

Louise swept the classroom floor. Although one might argue that she was multi tasking, since she was reading a book while sweeping the class. Although one might rudely interrupt once again to point out that since all she did was move her broom but not actually do any cleaning, Louise was standing in the middle of her classroom and reading a book while absent mindedly waving a broom when she actually should be cleaning it up.

The pinkette's punishment was supposed to humiliate the student who had been disobedient in discipline or negligent in studies. Unfortunately for Louise, her absolute talentless in conventional magecraft meant that she often found herself in humiliating punishments. In fact, said punishments no longer bothered her.

Much.

And only when there was no one else within her vicinity. If someone else, like Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst or as Louise liked to call her, the 'red headed bimbo', was near, Louise would not be able to keep her calm.

Louise muttered something as she read the book, absent mindedly brushing the dust on the floor.

Louise was reading the book on summoning familiars for tomorrow was the Holy Springtime Ritual in which a magician summons a familiar which would signal their growth as mages.

Unfortunately for Louise, whose sole talent was causing things to explode, a normally happy and anticipated occasion had given her a bad case of anxiety.

She was hoping that her familiar would show elemental affinity.

Her fire magic simply caused explosions.

Her water magic simply caused explosions.

Her wind magic simply caused explosions.

Her earth magic simply caused explosions.

In this narrator's opinion, she should be caused Louise the Firecracker. However, the narrator only exists to narrate, not to give out his or her opinion. Therefore, Louise is known as Louise the Zero in this story with an uncanny ability to cause explosions of unnatural force.

Besides, 'Firecracker' is a stupid nickname.

A familiar was an extension of its master and thus showed the master's power, ability and elemental magecraft. If a fire mage was to summon a dragon, it would be taken as proof for his capacity of magic. If another mage was to summon a smaller or insignificant familiar, it would reflect rather poorly on them. Thus nobles with dragons, griffins, manticores and other magical creatures as familiars tended to end up as more successful mages than nobles with familiars such as dogs, cats or rabbits. Although Old Osmond, the headmaster of the Tristanian Academy of Magic, was one of the most powerful square class mages and he only had a field mouse for a familiar. Looks could be deceiving after all.

Louise paused and inspected the classroom. It had been thrown in disarray due to one of Louise's spells exploding once again and thus Louise had received said punishment in response. However, no one actually expected her to clean the class, the whole punishment was a farce simply to demean a student and thus motivate him to do better next time. Louise surveyed the classroom before deciding to give up. The commoners would take care of her mess. She decided to turn in for the night. Tomorrow was a big day after all.

The next day was indeed quite ceremonious for the second years of Tristanian Academy of Magic. Louise had woken up at dawn and fervently prayed to the founder for success, good fortune and His blessings. She had not broken her night long fast for fear of nausea. Instead of lying in bed after getting up, Louise had anxiously paced around her room, the pinkette's fear of failure keeping her awake and alert. She hadn't felt this nervous even at her first term's final exams.

Although considering the fact that the final exams of the first years in Tristanian Academy of Magic had a greater emphasis on theory than practical work, Louise's concern was justified. At least her knowledge of magical theory was superb, outdone only by the quiet Gallian bluette Tabitha. In this situation, failure would be disastrous.

At the specified time, Louise soundlessly left her room, locking the door behind her. She descended the several flights of stairs within the castle and headed towards the grounds where the summoning would occur. She had expected her peers to once again jeer at the sight of her. Her expectations were not baseless.

"Oh look, it is the Zero!" Someone called out as soon as they noticed her arrival. This signaled the beginning of the verbal torture she suffered daily. One might even admire her resilience for lasting through an year of it.

"Hey, Zero what are you going to summon for a familiar? A rat?" Someone jeered and burst at their own pathetic joke. The narrator would like to note that he is only narrating this story, not making any of these crude and tasteless jokes. That would be just too sad.

"Would she even be able to summon a familiar at all?" Someone wondered out loud. All the rest treated it as another joke, laughing and jeering at the proud pinkette.

"Silence! Mr. Gramont, if you will please step forward and perform the ritual?" Mr. Colbert, the teacher who was overseeing the ritual, said in a loud voice. The elegant blonde boy, who was curiously quite popular amongst his class fellows, stepped forward and summoned his familiar. It turned out to be a large mole, as befitting his nature as an Earth mage.

The rest of the class followed and pretty soon everyone besides Louise had ended the ritual successfully.

"Miss Louise, if you may." Mister Colbert said politely. Louise gulped. She was sweating slightly and her knees threatened to betray her. This was most certainly the end of the line for her. If she failed, she would forever be branded as a failure within and without the family. Indeed, one might say that Louise was as close to giving up as ever. It was only her stubborn pride that made her stand her ground.

It is said that sometimes the most amazing feats are accomplished when someone puts something precious on the line. Most of the time, it would be their life. For Louise, whose priorities were like any other noble's, her pride as a noble was the same as her life, although many people including this narrator would disagree. If she failed, there would be no going back. She might be expelled and used as a political barteri-, pardon me, bargaining chip at best and a commoner at worst.

The narrator is still surprised how much people in this universe value something as useless as political nobility.

Louise cleared her throat.

She then took a deep breath.

And then started chanting.

Unknown to her, she was in a different timeline. If she would have been fortunate, she would have ended up with that idealistic young mage who would later sell his life for the sake of a miracle. Although whether that really happens is something we are uncertain of.

If she would be merely lucky, she would have ended up with Hiraga Saito. This is sadly a certain timeline as compared to the one above.

Unfortunately for her and everyone else, this was a timeline where the whole fabric of society was soon to be ripped asunder by the simple acts of Louise's and the other Void mage Joseph's familiars.

* * *

The Root of all existence can be compared to a vast database of every possible timeline of the universe's recording in a crystallized form. Preserved within it is the knowledge of all that has happened, all that will happen and all that is happening inside every single timeline, no matter how diverse.

It has the knowledge of everything within the timeline where Earth never developed life. Rather dull.

It has the knowledge of everything within the timeline where organisms never evolved beyond their single celled stages. Rather dull as well unless you are a microbiologist.

It has the knowledge of everything within the timeline where dinosaurs never went extinct. Slightly interesting but the wet dream of every paleontologist.

It has the knowledge of the timeline where Hiraga Saito was summoned into Halkeginia from another timeline. Don't think too hard about it; You'll get a headache if you do.

It has the knowledge of all that had happened, all that will happen and all that was happening in another certain timeline. A very interesting timeline, if the narrator might say.

A timeline in which two men faced each other beneath the surface.

A priest who was literally heartless.

A teenager who was literally made of swords.

Both men decidedly different from each other but sharing similarities. Standing inside the cavern where a gigantic and malevolent entity stood in the background, the two stared at each other.

One was intent on protecting said entity. The other hell bent on destroying it.

Both men knew that they were dying so they were not going to hold back against the other. Not that there was anything left to hold back.

"Kotomine Kirei." The teenager said, watching his enemy closely.

"Emiya Shirou. It seems that we both survived." The priest acknowledged, looking at the boy with a disinterested air.

"Why?" Emiya asked. It was not required for them to elaborate since both were aware of the true meaning of the question. Both men were on their last legs and knew that time was of the essence; for Kotomine needed to waste it while Emiya needed to utilize it.

"Because I cannot allow you to kill a being that has not yet been born. We do not know whether this child that is about to enter our world is guilty or not, so why persecute it merely because of its nature?" Kotomine said. It took Emiya some time to figure out what Kotomine really meant but as soon as he understood, his frown deepened.

There was no need for words. An argument would only tax their time and in fact was the very thing Kotomine wanted to happen; entangle both men in a debate while they ignored the entity behind them and perished. Emiya might try to reason with him a little longer in another timeline, but in this one, he went straight to the point.

With a snarl, Emiya clumsily rushed at Kotomine. His whole body had gone numb, the nerves being dead for some time and much of his flesh already converted into steel. The reason he could not move properly was not because of the pain he felt. No, since his whole body could be said to be nearly dead already, pain wasn't an issue. It was the swords themselves that grated against themselves and his body, slowing him down and forcing him to move awkwardly.

His headlong rush at his nemesis was met by solid punch connecting to his chest. If the teenager's body wasn't already made of swords, the blow would have pulverized his ribs and killed him instantly. As it was, Emiya merely stumbled backwards. Kotomine kicked out, his right foot as fast as fire, hitting Emiya's defenseless abdomen. This time, Emiya was lifted off his feet and fell with a sword jarring thud.

The narrator would like to note here that he was unsure whether to say bone jarring or sword jarring and chose to go with the latter if only because it sounds better.

Kotomine examined his right fist for a second. The recoil he had felt and the subsequent snap had told him that he had broken at least one knuckle. Kotomine had been trained in the Chinese martial art Bajiquan and was skilled to some degree. The punch he had thrown should not have damaged him as much and Kotomine briefly wondered whether to switch from using his fists to using his palms. Although after considering the time left, Kotomine disregarded his damaged hands and proceeded to walk over to his enemy and finish him with his fists, broken finger bones be damned.

When Emiya stood up, Kotomine simply launched another punched, this one harder than the previous. It was aimed at him unprotected head and would have shattered it like an egg. Emiya barely blocked the attack with his hands. The impact of the punch, although cushioned from his block, was still strong enough to send him stumbling back once more.

Kotomine knew that in order to win, he had to finish quickly. Already he could feel his strength leaving, his lungs straining, his entire frame slowing. When Emiya finally recovered and counter attacked, it was Kotomine who ended up blocking, not being fast enough to step back.

There is a Chinese proverb that in order to win a fight, one must first have the will to fight. After that one must have the strength to fight. Only after that could martial arts be effective. A cowardly martial artist would always lose against an amateur who had the will to fight, it is only a matter of time. A weak martial artist will lose against a strong yet untrained man.

This fight was different. Both were skilled but their skills were useless since both were not fast enough. Both were strong but their strength was already leaving their bodies. The whole fight boiled down to a brawl involving their resolve. The one with the weaker will would be defeated.

Although in the narrator's opinion, both men already had such formidable willpower that this fight could extend till the end of time and yet they still would not have concluded the result.

Kotomine steadied himself. He was getting ready to kick again when he first heard it.

_My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe_

Kotomine got punched in the face by a charging Emiya. Backpedalling furiously, the priest steadied himself. Another blow followed. Kotomine realized, as he fell, that he was losing.

_My divine_

Kotomine grabbed Emiya's leg. His vision was growing hazy but he still held on. In the narrator's opinion, one would find it convenient to recall how Hisau Maiya had grabbed Kotomine's ankle.

_Beautiful_

Emiya's stomped his foot savagely on Kotomine's face. Kotomine's forehead was cut by Emiya's heel.

_Wise_

Kotomine kicked out, cutting Emiya's legs through sheer coincidence and causing him to fall. By now, all reason and logic had left both men. They might as well be savage animals.

_Powerful_

The priest struggled to stand and with a colossal effort managed to do so. His vision was now bloody and hazy, his sight was tinged crimson. Emiya was still flat on his back, too winded to start getting up.

_Servant_

Emiya was now rising. He was on his knees, resembling a knight of old kneeling down in front of his liege. The sheer fatigue Kotomine was feeling prevented him from reacting accordingly. If his heart had been ripped out even a minute later, he would have had an extra minute's worth of strength and would have won. Time was on Emiya's side.

_Heed my call_

Kotomine raised his fist, intent on smashing apart Emiya's face. It was a final blow, the last one Kotomine would ever be able to deliver.

_And appear!_

The blow never landed. As Emiya looked up, he saw Kotomine smile thinly, as if enjoying some private joke.

"It seems that you have won, Emiya. As I suspected, the result was decided by a simple difference in time." Kotomine said as his extremities lost much of their strength, as his body focused in prolonging his existence for a few meager moments. Kotomine knew that this was futile and was actually amused at his own body's grief. Even when it was futile, life clung to the barest shred of hope. Even if his mind had accepted its fate, the body would struggle.

Emiya remained silent. Kotomine also remained silent. He did not even speak when a portal of light magically appeared in between them. It was only a few inches away from Kotomine.

For all it was worth, that mysterious portal might as well be another piece of rubble to Kotomine. It was not interesting or important at all in Kotomine's opinion.

"Go forth, Emiya Shirou and fulfill your wish. I, Kotomine Kirei, declare you the victor of the Holy Grail War." Kotomine said. His fit was still upraised.

"Yeah. In response for giving me so much pain, I am going to crush that desire of yours." Emiya answered. Kotomine's smile widened ever so slightly.

Did grief give the priest so much happiness? Did even his own helplessness prove to be nothing more than an amusement to him.

No, it was not his grief that amused him. It was the difference in time. Even though Emiya had lost his arm first and was dying before Kotomine, the priest still lost.

The priest teetered and then fell face forward. Into the portal. Into another world, unknowingly answering the summons.

The priest disappears from this world with no one to bury him.

* * *

With a terrific bang, Louise's summoning went awry. The smoke from the resulting explosion made everybody's eyes water. And still they laughed.

"I knew it, she is just a Zero. She will never be able to summon a familiar." Someone jeered.

"Louise the Zero!"

"Why don't you just give up, Zero?"

"SILENCE!" Colbert's voice rang out. His voice seemed louder and even fiercer. The threatening effect it had served its purpose as the young mages fell silent. No one had heard the bumbling professor to shout this loud before, not even when he was angry.

Jean Colbert was known as the Flame Snake in his military days. Even though it had been a long time since he had left it, he still remembered everything about that time, try as he might to forget them. And the one scent that he never forgot was the scent of blood.

The steelish smell had invaded his nostrils as soon as Louise's spell malfunctioned. For a heart wrenching moment, he thought that she had gravely injured someone. But there had been no cries or screams of pin, only jeers and the occasional cough as someone inhaled smoke.

Which could only meant that the scent came from the familiar that was why he had shouted. Colbert morbidly wondered what sort of familiar Louise had summoned. He didn't need to wonder long. The smoke cleared and revealed the prone form of a man.

"Somebody fetch the nurse! Hurry! He is bleeding!" Colbert yelled, his loud voice scaring the young mages around him into activity. Several of them bustled around, everyone seemingly confused and even Colbert's instructions fell on deaf ears. Fortunately, several of the nursing staff and teaching faculty were already headed towards the grounds to investigate the explosion.

"Hurry, he is bleeding!" Colbert shouted once again, causing the nursing staff to come running. Colbert in the meanwhile turned over the summoned man's body.

And forced himself not to retch.

He had seen many bodies in his career. Burned bodies, stabbed bodies, bodies hanging from tree branches, bodies of men, women and even children. However, the state the man was in took the cake.

The narrator would also like to point out that the cake is a lie.

He seemed to have been savaged by some thing. Not a beast, something. Something that did not understand the meaning of mercy or kindness. Something that could not even be called a sane existence. But what was the most prominent feature in the mangled body was a gaping hole right where the heart should be.

A lesser man than Colbert would have promptly gone into shock. However, the fire mage kept his wits about and managed to note the most important thing.

The man, despite all odds, was breathing.

"He's alive!" Colbert yelled, more out of joy than surprise. Truly, in Colbert's opinion, no one deserved to be killed like that. Colbert silently congratulated the unconscious man, impressed by his willpower. The nursing staff descended around the body. Colbert once again impressed by the self control the nurses showed.

"W-What is happening?" Louise asked timidly as she sidled up to Colbert.

"You, Miss Valliere have been blessed with a truly amazing familiar. I do believe that he is the best possible familiar you could have summoned." Colbert said. Truly, if someone could take that much damage and survive, it meant that he was a good man, wasn't it?

And that was how the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual closed, with confusion, and smoke rampant in the field, Students babbling incoherently, Louise absolutely stunned at the turn of events and Proffesor Colbert grinning as if he had just seen the most wonderful painting in the world.

The narrator would like to point out that Kotomine has little chance of survival.

**Rejoice, readers! For this fic is not a one-shot but a fully fledged story. By the Power of my Command Seal, the narrator orders you to review!**

**Also note, readers, that this story will be deliberately shifted towards another ending. But you probably already figured that out. Kotomine's and Emiya's duel to the death, for one thing, starts and ends differently. But I am only telling this for the benefit of all those morons out there.**

**Also, the narrator is not one for overly lengthy and detailed prose. Biege is a better color after all.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two: In which the reader expects great things but is severely disappointed.**_

When Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere had summoned her familiar, Jean Colbert had first mistaken the new arrival to be some monster of some sort. Only the soldiers who had started to accept the despair of war and turning into monster themselves, reveling in the pain and sufferings of others, gave off that type of aura. Fortunately, he had not burned Miss Valliere's familiar to ashes. Jean Colbert would never burn someone without proof that the target could be dangerous, no matter what his appearance or vibe.

And of course, someone who could survive being nearly savaged to death by whatever attacked them had to be a good person. No one would willingly risk their lives in a fight against a monster of such a brutal mindset, unless they were protecting something. Colbert had noticed the broken fingers of Miss Valliere's familiar and realized that he had tried to fight or at least struggle against whatever the monstrosity was.

Surely, even if such a person was only fighting for his life, the fact that he survived meant that the favor of Brimir was with him. How else could he survive? Jean Colbert could think of no other explanation, having seen stronger men die of less severe wounds.

The narrator would like to point out that if Jean Colbert had known about Kotomine, he wouldn't be wondering why he survived but would rather be thinking about what extremes would be required to destroy him.

And the answer for that is a blood red spear wielded by a knight in blue clothes who always suffers from bad luck.

The fire mage followed the nurses, who bore the unconscious familiar away on a stretcher, all the way to the infirmary where the human familiar was promptly dumped into a bed and then stripped naked.

The narrator requests all the female population reading this to stop imagining things.

The Head Nurse, pointed her wand at the supine form of her patient and muttered a few lines. It had no visible effect. Jean Colbert looked expectantly at the Nurse.

"I forced his vital organs to continue functioning." She explained and promptly continued the healing of his patient.

Jean Colbert was a mage who wielded destructive magic yet who wished to be someone who could perform constructive and medical magic. He was always entranced by the sight of a healer at work. After fifteen hours of observing hard work, during which Colbert refused to budge from the spot and the nursing staff generally ignored him, he realized that something was wrong.

The Head Nurse kept using the same organ reviving spell every hour. And the hole in the familiar's chest had not healed at all.

"Is something the matter?" Colbert asked. The Head Nurse looked at him with somber eyes.

"I can heal muscle, sinew and bones because all I do is aid the body in healing itself. But the heart? I can't. It has been ripped out and I cannot restore it. I am trying to keep him alive for the previous two hours without a heart but we need an extremely advanced regenerative potion to save him." The Head Nurse said, her entire frame rocking.

Colbert's eyes snapped open. He recalled a present he had received from a member of the Montmorency Family all those years ago when he was a mage in the military.

The second moment when he felt such happiness. When he had saved a fellow human being, that particular Montmorency lad. He had been so grateful that he had given him a golden box.

Containing a set of twenty vials of the strongest regenerative potions the Montmorency Family could make.

Without a sound, Colbert rushed out of the infirmary, through various corridors and in to his study. After several minutes of searching, he found the dust covered golden box. Grabbing it, Colbert hastily retraced his steps back. His arrival startled the Head Nurse and several other nurses.

"Mr. Colbert! This is an…" She began but Colbert paid her no heed. Opening the box in a deft motion, Colbert took a vial from the untouched set, opened it and poured its meager contents inside the mouth of the familiar. He made sure to pinch the familiar's nose, forcing him to swallow.

"Mr. Colbert, do you even realize what you just poured inside his mouth?" Jean Colbert heard the Head Nurse. He turned around to see her inspecting the bottle with a look of wonder.

"Yes." Colbert answered simply. The Head Nurse frowned at such a simple answer.

"But such an expensive potion! Do you know, Mister Colbert, that the combined price of the potions inside that gilded box of yours will buy you a duchy? Why use this on it?" The Head Nurse said in a bewildered air.

Any further words were immediately silenced by the look Colbert gave her.

"But what use that wealth would be to me?" Colbert asked softly. The Head Nurse remained quiet, more out of confusion and fear than respect or understanding.

Several minutes passed but the nearly dead familiar showed no signs of recovering.

"Was the potion even authentic?" one of the nursing staff asked. Colbert felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The narrator would like to remind you that for a terrific moment of recovery, like the hero's rise from a coma or an injury, is only possible if one of the nursing staff calls doubt or expresses despair. How else can one instill a sense of drama?

With a terrific lurch, the familiar's body arched upwards, bending till his spine reached breaking point. All his fingers started twitching madly. His eyelids flapped open to reveal his eyeballs rolling around in an extremely grotesque and vaguely interesting manner.

But that wasn't the worse.

As the nursing staff and Colbert watched in morbid fascination, the hole in the familiar's chest suddenly started spewing forth blood. It was dark crimson in color and smelled like sulfur.

By now, one of the nursing staff had enough and finally backed away and vomited in the background.

After ejaculating enough blood, Colbert, who had shifted closer for further inspection, saw the various fibers inside the familiar's body knit themselves together and form a heart. Immediately after its birth, the organ started pumping. The rest of the body mended itself and finally the familiar's chest started moving on its own.

The familiar had started breathing.

Colbert smiled in a tired manner. This was the third time in his life that he had felt so happy.

In the narrator's opinion, pouring battery acid inside that hole was a better option. But who listens to him anyways?

* * *

Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere was not a very patient girl. She had inquired about the health of the man she had summoned several times but every time, one of the nursing staff shooed her away like a chicken.

The narrator apologizes for comparing Louise to a chicken. If one had to compare her, one might say she was a miniature tigress. But one simply does not shoo away a tigress. So we will have to be patient and compare her to a chicken.

She had summoned her familiar in the morning but by now it was late evening. She had skipped both her classes and her lunch out of concern for her familiar. Even if he was a commoner, he was proof that Louise was not an inadequate mage. She was no longer a Zero. No, she had finally done something of merit. She was no longer a failure.

Giving in to the hunger, she finally headed towards the dining hall. It was there she had met her first surprise.

Everyone in the dining hall was whispering or conversing with each other but as soon as they noticed her, they fell silent. The sudden lack of noise was extremely disturbing. Louise decided to ignore it like the Valliere she was and briskly headed towards an empty seat. She noticed the nobles who were sitting near her were regarding her with contempt. Like the proper Valliere she was, she disregarded them and ate her dinner. She was, however, unnerved enough by the reigning silence to make quick work of her food. As soon as she left the hall, the conversation resumed, its intensity increased.

"They are all talking about me." Louise said to herself bitterly as she headed back to her room, head lowered.

"Well, imagine so, Zero." Someone said in a sing song voice. Louise raised her head to see that it was Kirche who had said that, leaning on the corridor wall. At her feet, a crimson lizard with a flaming tail inspected her with unblinking eyes. A salamander, Louise realized.

"Well, why is that?" Louise said indignantly.

"Commoner." Tabitha said in her usual monotone voice. She was standing besides Kirche, eyes glued to a book as always.

"Commoner? What commoner?" Louise said in a bewildered tone.

"What the lovely lady meant was that you desecrated the Holy Spring Time Ritual by forcing a commoner to do your bidding." Guiche de Gramont, the elegant fop, said. He had just arrived from the dining hall and was looking at Louise in a bemused manner.

"Desecrated? Me? I don't know what you are talking about? I asked for my familiar to appear and was blessed by Brimir with a familiar." Louise said haughtily. But inside her façade, she was feeling insecure herself. What did the appearance of a commoner familiar mean? Did it mean that it was a sign that she was inadequate to be a proper noble after all? Still, to show such weakness in the company of her peers was unbecoming of a Valliere and Louise stared back at Guiche.

"Really now? Tell me Louise, how much did you pay that commoner to act like your familiar?" Kirche asked, her right eyebrow raised questioningly. Louise grew red with fury. But before she could even pull out her wand, Guiche spoke up again.

"I don't think she paid him at all! Did you look at the shape he was in when he appeared? I bet Louise punished him into accepting such a humiliating role." Guiche said with a chuckle.

If Louise had been furious before, she was now downright murderous. Even if commoners were below nobles, to say that she forced one into acting like that would be the worst kind of slander one could endure.

The murder of Guiche and Kirche was prevented by the arrival of Jean Colbert.

"Miss Valliere, your familiar has awakened." He said breathlessly. All four of the students looked at Colbert with a questioning look.

"If you would like to meet him, you can do it now. The Head Nurse has declared his status as stable and has allowed visitors." Colbert explained.

"Can I come too?" Kirche said. Louise was taken aback by her rival's question. Wasn't she just accusing and slandering her of desecration of a holy event? Louise was tempted to say no but the decided not to. A Valliere maintains proper decorum even under the worst of conditions. In Louise's opinion, it would take more than just the two of them to test her patience.

In the narrator's defense, this is an alternate timeline where Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere has much stricter upbringing and she does not lose her temperament that easily. Or maybe she was this way too when she summoned Saito and he was just that stupid.

"As long as you do not impose yourself unnecessarily." Louise said in a clipped tone and started to follow Colbert.

"Oh I wouldn't even dream of it." Kirche chuckled as she followed suit.

"I as well shall grace your company with my presence." Guiche said dramatically. It took all of Louise's willpower not cast any sort of spell on Guiche in anger. The only place his presence would grace was a dustbin.

The narrator would like to point out that it would be a very sad dustbin that would be graced by Guiche's presence.

The four students and Colbert went through the various corridors inside Trastain Academy of Magic before they arrived at the infirmary. Inside the room, sitting upright in his bed, was Louise's familiar.

* * *

_Am I dead?_

This was the first thought of Kotomine Kirei.

"Incorrect, Kirei. You are merely dreaming." A blond man a golden armor smirked. Inside the darkness in Kirei's mind, his entire frame glowed for no reason.

"Oh really? Then why am I?" Kirei asked in a disinterested air. As soon as he had seen Gilgamesh, he had realized that he was dreaming. Gilgamesh was dead. He had been digested by Dark Sakura.

The narrator would like to point out that lucid dreaming is real. It's a pity the narrator himself has never experienced it.

"How should I know? Even I, Kirei, have limits. I am the King but the world of dreams is beyond my reach and I have no interest in it." Gilgamesh answered, his smirk not disappearing at all.

"I see." Kirei answered shortly. A few moments passed in silence with both Priest and King staring at each other wordlessly.

"You lost to the Faker." Gilgamesh noted. There was no anger or fury in his statement. Gilgamesh sounded amused instead. Kirei simply decided to nod.

"Yet you are alive." Gilgamesh continued. Kirei realized that Gilgamesh was trying to steer the conversation to a specific direction. He once again nodded.

"What will you do now, Kirei?" Gilgamesh asked, his smirk suddenly evaporating. Kirei considered the questioned seriously.

"I am relieved of my duties as the Mediator of the Holy Grail and as the priest of the Fuyuki Church." Kirei answered. Gilgamesh shook his head.

"That's not an answer." He said.

"Why should I answer to you, a mere figment of my imagination? You do not even exude the air of majesty he did." Kirei countered lazily. He was in no mode of arguing however he had to admit even his own imagination was slightly irritating. Perhaps that was why Rin disliked him.

The narrator would like to point out that Kirei is currently sounding very stupid. He knows full well how much he annoys others. Here, he is acting as if he didn't know. Truly, these events seem to be false.

"Oh? Yes, I may not be the actual King of Heroes but that does not mean I don't deserve to have my questions answered. Answer me, Kotomine Kirei, what do you intend to do now?" Gilgamesh asked. Kirei noted that even if his mind could reconstruct Gilgamesh's image, it could not replicate his aura. Perhaps he should be grateful about it.

"If I am dreaming," Kirei began to speak hesitantly. "Then it means that I am alive. If I am alive, it means that I have been blessed by God with another chance of finding my answer. Only an ungrateful heathen would waste such a gift from above." Kirei was surprised when he heard the metallic sound of Gilgamesh's armored hands clapping.

"Well done, Kirei. Like you told that Faker in the church, rejoice! For now that you have another chance at life, you have another chance at searching for your answer." Gilgamesh said, his grin now turning into a leer. His entire form began to dissolve into golden particles.

"I shall observe what amusing tragedies my playwright shall create for me." His voice said.

"But if you are just a figment of my mind, how can you observe?" Kireo wondered out loud. He had no answer and presently, a jolt of pain he was brought back to the world of the living. Through partially lidded eyes, he saw two things.

The cavity in his chest seemed to be mending itself. And standing beside him was a bald man whose face was lit up with joy. A man whom Kirei decided to destroy simply because he was smiling. Without another thought, Kirei went back to sleep.

He awoke much later to see a single solitary woman in a nurse's uniform sitting at a desk, writing something. Soundlessly, Kirei dragged himself into a sitting position. The creaking of his bed made the woman look up.

"Ah, you are awake." The woman observed, scarcely paying attention to Kirei's nudity.

The narrator would like to say that the nurse seems to be a master of stating the apparent. Of course, he is awake. What else?

"Dress yourself in these clothes. We had to burn your own clothes since no amount of washing would get rid of the bloodstains. I shall send Colbert to fetch your mistress." The nurse said, returning back to her writing.

Even though Kirei led a sadistic and nearly self destructive life after the Fourth Holy Grail War, he still maintained a sense of self preservation. That was why he did not leap to his feet and cave the woman's face in with a single well placed punch. Indeed, he could do that but he doubted that this was a wise decision at all. Who knew how much trouble it was worth?

Another reason for holding back was that Kirei did not care much about his clothes. It was the Black Keys inside his clothes that he was worried about. He had stored twenty Black key hilts inside various placed in his attire. Now they were gone. The Black Keys would no doubt survive the measly fire that would destroy his clothes. But it would be a hassle searching for them.

But the greatest reason why he did not murder the woman was because she was speaking French. Kirei was conversant in that language, given that he had been a valedictorian in the Theological College of Manresa St. Ignacio and had learned several other languages as well. Thus he had no problem in understanding her rather strange French.

But Kirei had fallen unconscious in Fuyuki, Japan. And he had woken up in some part of France. How long had he been unconscious?

And then there was the fact that this woman was treating the issue of his blood stained clothes with a light hearted casualness. Indeed, she was nurse but did that mean she was callous to the sight of blood? Perhaps surgeries were another matter but Kirei was bleeding before he arrived here. And his injuries were not ordinary at all. Then how could she still be so calm?

And when had the surgery been performed? On board the flight? In Japan? Or were his body functions maintained until they arrived at France where he came under the scalpel?

And most importantly, how had they found him at all? Did that Emiya fail to destroy the Greater Grail? Had Avenger been born? Or was this whole affair a miracle?

The narrator would like to point out that Kotomine is one of the most philosophical people in Fuyuki, perhaps after Emiya.

The priest merely nodded wordlessly and proceeded to dress himself in the navy blue pants and shirt which were several sizes loose. Still, they would suffice for now.

"Where am I?" Kirei asked, clearing his throat beforehand. The Nurse's head snapped up.

"Didn't anyone teach you any manners, commoner?" She asked sharply. Mistaking Kirei's silence for either fear or confusion, she sighed.

"You are in Tristain Academy of Magic. You were summoned by Miss Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere as her familiar although Brimir knows whether that is true or not. In my opinion, she just paid you to act as one." The Nurse grumbled. Kirei remained silent and sat down on his bed, simply waiting for something to happen.

Presently, the door of the infirmary opened and several people trooped inside. Kirei noticed the bald man whom he had seen before. The first thing Kirei saw were his eyes. They were similar to Kiritsugu's. Kirei remained blank faced while he seethed to see someone familiar to the Magus Killer.

Besides him stood a pink haired girl who was staring at him intently. Kirei had seen several types of hair colors. Lancer had been the subject of much ridicule by Gilgamesh. The Matou girl's hair was also quite strange although in her case, it was probably due to that vampire's worm familiars. Even the Rider of the Fifth Grail War had unusual hair. This girl's hair was a shade brighter than Rider's.

Following the two were three more children who did not merit Kirei's attention.

"Well, Miss Valliere?" The bald man said in a testing voice.

"B-but, Mister Colbert! Can't I retry summoning a familiar?" The Valliere girl stammered.

"Absolutely not, Miss Valliere. The Ritual is sacred and trying once more after being blessed by a familiar would be a blasphemy." The man named Colbert said sharply. The Valliere girl scowled but strode towards Kirei.

"You should feel honored, commoner. Not many of your kind get the honor of becoming a Noble's familiar." The pinkette snarled. Then she began to chant.

"My name is Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere. Pentagon of the Five elemental powers, grant your blessing on this humble being and bind him as my familiar." She leaned forward to place her lips on Kirei's.

She ended up kissing Kirei's palm. Kirei had stopped her from locking lips with him merely out of habit. One did not become an Executioner without being wary of his surroundings. He held her face easily in his hand as he considered crushing it. Discarding that thought, he simply asked.

"What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious, you stupid commoner? I am binding you as my familiar. And how dare you touch me like that?" The pink haired girl named Louise snarled. Kirei recalled a certain Tohsaka magus being as enraged as this girl was. No possibly more. Focusing his thoughts on to the present, he pressed his lips together.

"No." He said firmly.

"WHAT!?" Everyone in the room exclaimed, even the bald man and the nurse.

"You heard me. I refuse to be bound to you as your familiar. I fainted in my battle and was somehow transported to this academy, had my heart restored, had my clothes stripped of my body and then burned to ashes without my consent, was belittled and now am expected to happily serve as some short tempered girl's familiar. Do I not deserve an explanation of what has happened to me? Am I simply a beast who should be grateful for a few scraps? If you expect me to be so then I am afraid you are sadly mistaken." Kirei said. He left it unsaid that not even a single one of those things actually bothered him. He just wanted to instill a feeling of guilt in his audience.

Kirei's entire speech back fired when he saw the reactions of the other people in the room. The pinkette was furious. The bald man was merely surprised. The Nurse looked irritated. The red head was chuckling. The bluette was only staring at him over her book while the blond was shaking his head in a bemused expression.

"Well, it seems that you have summoned a most interesting familiar, Zero." The red head chuckled.

"More like delusional." The nurse grumbled.

"Or a complete idiot. He doesn't even know his place!" The blonde said, posing dramatically.

"Unusual." Even the girl with the book commented.

Louise's expression however, grew redder and redder by each comment.

"You stupid familiar! I will put you in your place!" She snarled, whipping out a length of wood from her pocket. Kirei regarded it with disinterest.

"And what exactly is that?" He said.

"Don't you recognize a wand when you see one? Even you commoners must have observed enough magic to understand what it is." Louise spluttered, her anger boiling over. She raised her wand arm. Kirei noticed from the corner of his eye that the Nurse, the red head and the blond had leapt out of the room while the bluette merely walked out.

"You require wands to perform magic?" Kirei asked.

"Well, how else can we?" Louise asked.

Kirei could think of many ways with Mystic Codes being the primary means. Kirei's magecraft did not require a Mystic Code. Neither did Rin's Gandr curse shots. Emiya Shirou did not use any Mystic Code, although whether his meager spells could even be laughingly called magecraft was worth debating. Emiya Kiritsugu, on the other hand, used guns, the strangest Mystic Code Kirei had ever witnessed.

But then again, why should he explain that to her? There was absolutely no need. So Kirei remained silent.

"Miss Valliere, that's enough. It is clear that your familiar is very confused. Perhaps if we explain the circumstances more clearly to him, he will consent. No need to cast magic inside this room." The bald man said sharply. Louise lowered her wand arm reluctantly. The bald man named Colbert faced him and offered a small smile.

"I am Jean Colbert and I am a teacher in this Academy. You were summoned by Miss Valliere in the Holy Spring Time Ritual as her familiar through the blessing of Brimir. As expected of tradition, Louise requests you to become her familiar." Colbert explained.

In the narrator's opinion, that was very poor explanation. No one would be foolish enough to sell his freedom just for the sake of becoming a pinkette's lapdog.

"I accept." Kotomine answered. Louise and Colbert were slightly surprised but quickly took things into stride.

"Well, Miss Valliere, if you will…" Colbert addressed her student but was cut short by Kotomine.

"But under three conditions. After all, if we are entering into a binding contract, I must have something in return. It is the basis of equivalent exchange after all." Kotomine added.

"Name them." Colbert said before Louise could even say anything.

"First of all, I will be allowed a degree of freedom. I am a human and thus require more than just the average familiar's degree of autonomy. Secondly, you will not force me to change my religion. My faith in my Lord is my own private concern. Do not interfere with that. And finally, I wish to be called by my first name." Kotomine listed.

"Accepted. Now accept my contract, err, …" Louise said hastily before Kotomine Kirei interjected.

"My name is Kirei Kotomine and I hereby accept your contract as your familiar." He said, pronouncing his name in the Western manner.

"My name is Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere. Pentagon of the Five elemental powers, grant your blessing on this humble being and bind him as my familiar." Louise chanted once more after which both she and Kirei kissed. Although saying kiss would be inappropriate. Kirei simply allowed the Valliere girl to bump her lips on to his without smashing apart her skull or resisting in any other way would be a better description.

In the narrator's opinion, chimpanzees make better kissy faces than Kirei.

As soon as the contract was formed, Kirei felt a burning sensation on the backside of his left hand. He lifted his hand casually inspected what was happening. A set of runes had appeared on that patch of skin. Kirei frowned. These were familiar runes. Tokiomi had mentioned them in passing and had added that they were sometimes useful in making Mystic Codes. Despite Tokiomi insisting that they were not important, Kirei had memorized the entire futhark simply for the sake of doing something at that time.

_Gebo. Uruz. Naudiz. Dagaz. Othalan. Laukaz. Fehu._

_Gundolf?_

"Will you allow me to inspect these runes?" Colbert asked. Kirei disdainfully allowed the bald man to look at the back of his hand.

"These are most interesting runes." Colbert murmured.

"No doubt." Kirei agreed.

"Mister Colbert! If it is possible, can I go back now?" louise asked. Colbert snapped back in to reality.

"Why yes. Miss Valliere, you are dismissed." Colbert said and swiftly left the office, muttering something under his breath.

"Come along now, Kirei. You have kept me waiting long enough." Louise said with a huff. The small pinkette exited the infirmary with Kirei silently following her.

Why had Kotomine Kirei suddenly decided to accept the contract? That was because the first thing he had seen after waking up was pride in the eyes of everyone around, even the bald man. And Kirei knew from experience that the greatest amount of despair was obtained from breaking the proud. So in order to stay around these proud nobles, Kirei Kotomine had accepted his role as a familiar.

The reason he had asked to be called by his first name was simply because Louise reminded him of Rin. Hearing her say his name like that would motivate him to break her personality.

**The narrator would like to apologize for the poor quality of the narration but asks for reviews nonetheless.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three: In which the narrator remains quiet on the request of the reviewers**_

Kirei and Louise walked through the hallways to Louise's room. After entering the room, she promptly began to take off her clothes.

Kotomine Kirei was not a man who had interest in women. Neither did he have any interest in men, for the matter. He did, however, not like the way Louise undressed regardless of his presence. Even if he wasn't the sort of man who would take advantage of a girl, Kotomine did have certain standards.

"Is it really alright for you to undress like this in front of me? I am a man, after all." Kirei said in tone which he considered polite.

Apparently, it was either not polite enough or Louise temper was excessively volatile. Perhaps a combination of both.

"You are not a man, you are just a familiar!" She snapped. Kirei arched his eyebrows.

"Really?" He said, rolling the world excessively on his tongue. That irritated Louise even more.

"What is with that tone, fami- I mean Kirei? If you are to address me, address me by my title and use the correct degree of reverence when speaking to me." Louise yelled. She might as well have tried to sing him a lullaby. Kirei's thin and mocking smile never left his face and he bore the little girl's temper with remarkable patience. Rin had bursts of anger like this as well. The similarity between the two girls was quite remarkable.

"My apologies, _mistress_. I did not mean to anger you in such a manner. I merely wish to inquire, _mistress_, why did you not care about nudity issues in my presence. Having satisfied my curiosity, I wish to know what do you want me to do? Or will that be all?" Kirei said, his tone ever so polite yet infuriating. Louise felt like casting several spells on him at once. Why did he have to be so mocking? Why did he not show her the proper degree of respect?

And most of all, why did he smile so unconvincingly?

She tossed her undergarments over to him, which Kirei deftly caught. A lifetime of being an executioner for the Church meant that Kirei often caught things thrown out of him simply out of instinct.

"Have them washed and wake me up tomorrow at dawn." Louise said brusquely and then got into her bed and closed her eyes.

One could say that Kotomine Kirei had nerves of steel. He could casually talk to Gilgamesh the King of Heroes without groveling, a trait which Gilgamesh did not punish simply because Kirei was too amusing to be destroyed. He could fight Heroic Spirits to some extent and had even emerged victorious in his fight against True Assassin and Matou Zouken. He could even casually walk into duels to the death and only be disinterested at best about his own demise.

There were very few instances where his demeanor changed. Hisau Maiya's struggle in the Einzbern Forest had certainly astonished him and Emiya Kiritsugu's sudden revival after having his heart destroyed had surprised him briefly.

But nothing had been more surprising than Louise's command of washing her laundry. For one agonizingly long moment, which Louise fortunately did not see, Kirei inspected the small cloth in his hand with a completely blank expression.

One gets a measure of self respect after hanging around with the world's most arrogant man. Even if Kirei believed in humility, he still had some pride.

Although it had been the pride of sadist. Kirei was proud of his ability to destroy people emotionally. A task like doing a little girl's laundry seemed degrading.

Kirei suddenly chuckled. But then again, the fiercer and prouder they were, the more joy he got in breaking them. He would not break her now. He would instead boost her ego and pride. Once she had attained enough hubris then he would strike.

For now, he would simply play the part of Kirei the Familiar. Although Kirei wasn't sure whether familiars were obligated to do the domestic duties of their Masters or not.

"As you wish, mistress." Kirei said softly as he picked up the small clothes and walked out of Louise's room. In the end, he decided that getting annoyed over something like this was not worth his time.

Kirei walked through the various corridors until he came to the conclusion that he was completely lost. He would have to ask for instructions to make his way to the outside of this ridiculously and uselessly large building. Kirei briefly wondered why it was built this way. Perhaps it was attacked by outside forces frequently? That would explain why it was so labyrinthine in nature. Those who did get in would have trouble in getting out.

Pushing aside the unnecessary thoughts, Kirei continued walking.

And suddenly stopped and listened.

Kirei was at crossing of two corridors. He was headed north while the voice of the blond boy, who had been in the infirmary along with Colbert and Louise, came from the immediate left of the corridor. The boy was standing just a few inches away from Kirei, probably leaning against the same wall Kirei was leaning on. Since Kirei did not want to take the slightest risk on being seen and have his time wasted by that boy, he decided to stay at the same spot.

"I would be glad to have some." Kirei heard Guiche's voice. He was now within hearing distance and could clearly listen to the conversation.

"Really?" The girl's innocent voice came.

"Really Katie. I cannot tell lies in front of your eyes." Guiche declared grandly.

Kirei found himself smiling but not because of the clichéd line. Unfortunately, the rest of the conversation was just meaningless babble of love addicted teens that Kirei filtered out. When they finally left, Kirei found that his right leg had gone to sleep.

A few minutes later, he came across a black haired girl wearing a maid uniform.

"Oh, you are Miss Valliere's familiar, aren't you? What are you doing at this time of the night?" She said. Kirei stopped himself from making a dry comment about the question. He was a familiar and was wandering through the building in the middle of the night carrying a young girl's underwear.

But then again, maybe the girl was trying to break the ice and start a conversation.

"Indeed I am. I was here hoping to deliver my mistress's laundry for washing." Kirei answered briefly.

"Let me take that for you. It will be delivered to your mistress's room tomorrow." The maid said.

"Thank you. Are all the students' laundry done by the servants?" Kirei asked. The maid looked at Kirei as if he had asked the most obvious question.

"Why yes." She answered.

"I would also like to know what happened to my clothes or at least the remains of them. You see, they were burned and disposed." Kirei asked. The maid looked uncertain.

"Well, I am not sure on that matter. You could try searching in the Academy's midden although it is outside the walls and quite far off." She answered hesitantly.

"I see. Thank you for your assistance and good night." Kirei said, quickly retreating in case the girl turned out to be a chatterbox.

It seemed that her mistress had made him do this task simply out of spite. It almost seemed funny now. That little pinkette, venting her anger at him by making him wash her under garments. Kotomine did not chuckle or even attempt to smile. The joke was quite bland but Kotomine deduced something from her mistress's actions.

Louise was an extremely frustrated young girl who liked to impose on others simply as a means of coping with her inferiority complex. Since she couldn't bully her peers into submission as a means to cope with her flaw, she had resorted to bully her familiar, Kirei. However, Kirei deduced once more, Louise, despite her aggressive nature, was a nice and caring individual. That was why she had given Kirei such a trivial task, one which the servants would do so for her anyways. If she had been a little but more mean spirited, she would have told Kotomine to do something even more dangerous or embarrassing.

Not that Kirei would have necessarily obliged but it would have been the thought that would have counted.

Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere was a little girl who wanted to be given her due share of respect, didn't receive it and thus took out her anger at Kirei. This meant that Kirei would have to slow down the process of breaking her since she was already fragile enough to begin with. In fact Kirei decided that doing the opposite would be a better idea. Even if her exterior personality was strong, Kirei did not want to run the risk of prematurely ruining his mistress. Thus, the first thing would be to build her confidence and perhaps a solid reputation as a mage to back it up. Then he would break her.

Although Kirei expected his retrun trip to be uneventful, he was proven wrong. At a different crossing of the corridors, Kirei was once again forewarned by the voice of a girl albeit a different one.

"Guiche, I brewed this perfume for you myself." A girl said. Kirei raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. The boy had the gall to pursue two women at the same time.

"Why thank you Montmorency for this kind gift. I would be sure to treasure it." The boy said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Kirei briefly wondered how could any male raise their voice to such a high pitch.

"I made sure to give it a unique essence. Only you have this perfume. It is my way of marking you as my own." The girl named Montmorency explained.

"The scent is quite exquisite." Guiche admitted after sniffing.

After which Kirei was once again forced to endure a round of Guiche spouting tasteless lines and the other girl eating them all up. By the end of it, Kirei had resolved to do something. As soon as they started to leave, Kirei moved.

"Pardon me." Kirei said politely. He had been in a hurry to get back to Louise's room and had accidentally bumped into Guiche and Montmorency.

"How dare you commoner! Have you no eyes? Or did Brimir give you marbles instead?" Guiche said in an indignant voice. He might as well have tried to argue with a pillar. After crashing into the two, Kirei had kept walking and disappeared around the corner.

"I have half a mind to teach that oaf a lesson." Guiche fumed.

"You can do that in the morning, Guiche. Now be a dear and escort me to my room." Montmorency said, showing a remarkable degree of tolerance for a noble.

"As you say so, Montmorency. But I still intend to teach that commoner some manners." Guiche said in a charming manner.

Kirei returned to Louise's room. Spotting a piece of stale bread on a plate, Kirei fed himself and then proceeded to settle down in the hay on the floor.

Despite having arrived in this strange land thirty hours ago, the priest slept without a concern.

* * *

Kirei found himself standing in a pitch black atmosphere.

"So how does the mongrel feel being in the midst of his own kind?" Gilgamesh said, his ever present smirk decorating his face. Kirei looked at the man in golden armor with an emotionless face.

"I fail to understand what you mean to imply." He said flatly.

"Surely, after spending nearly ten years in my presence, returning to the filth you originated from must have given you a new perspective of my generosity." Gilgamesh said.

"You are probably correct, King of Heroes. But in my opinion, the difference between you and them is only a difference of garments." Kirei answered in a dull tone.

"What! How dare you imply me to be similar to that scum!" Gilgamesh yelled, the Gates of Babylon appearing behind him. Kirei gave them a disinterested look.

"If you were actually you, you would have shot me first and screamed at my corpse." Kirei observed. Gilgamesh instantly regained his composure.

"Hmpf, it is not fun playing mind games with you Kirei." He said in a sulky tone. Kirei intentionally remained quiet, not wanting to incur another pointless display of anger from his subconscious self by mentioning the word 'mind'.

"So, what sort of tragedies are you weaving currently?" Gilgamesh asked.

"I am annoying myself. I believe that counts as a tragedy." Kirei answered.

"Kotomine Kirei, I would really like to stick to the facts. I may not be able to injure you but one does not need to injure another to harm him. The pain is in your mind after all." Gilgamesh said, tapping his own temple, his smile gone. The Gates of Babylon opened once again.

"And why would I want to torture myself? Since we are both the same, shouldn't we share the same memories?" Kirei asked. He wasn't feeling threatened. Instead, he felt curious.

"I am not your actual self. I do not share your consciousness. I appear in this form simply because I am the closest image your mind can relate to. In the end, I am only your other side impersonating Gilgamesh." The man in golden armor answered very seriously.

"How did I create such a facet of myself? Why did it develop? What caused you to form?" Kirei asked. He was still curious about the nature of his other self.

"Who knows? Although I am sure there is a good reason behind this improbable event. Now, tell me about your plans." Gilgamesh said, cocking his head coyly. Kirei obliged.

* * *

Louise dreamt of strange things that night.

She found herself in a large chamber of sorts. It was extremely strange since the walls were not made of any kind of brick but some sort of seamless stone. The ceiling itself was quite stranger, being made of white squares with some areas having glowing rods instead.

However, the minute she paid attention to her surrounding, she stopped herself from gasping.

Her familiar, Kirei, was standing at one end of the chamber. However he looked noticeably different. His hair and height were shorter, he was dressed in different clothes, his frame was thinner and he was smiling. Louise looked in the direction where Kirei was staring at and saw another commoner. This commoner was remarkably different from Kirei. His hair was wilder, he was looking murderous and he was carrying two strange muskets.

"Kirei, what are we doing here?" Louise asked. Her younger looking familiar did not answer. In fact, both commoners did not appear to have heard her at all. Before she could berate them for ignoring her, Kirei moved.

Her familiar whipped out several long swords and charged at the other man. During his sprint across the chamber, the swords Kirei held mysteriously grew in size. The Commoner fired his musket. His aim seemed to be quite good since the swords shattered.

Louise breathlessly gazed as her familiar relentlessly kept running and kicked out at the other man so fast that his legs seemed to blur. The Commoner leaned back and dodged the kick. Kirei answered with another kick which his opponent evaded as well.

Louise was awed by the display of acrobatics and agility. Most mages tend to remain stationary during duels or fights. A commoner's best hope in a battle was to either use a musket or to attack with whatever pitiful weapon at hand.

Yet here were two men fighting with an elegance that rivaled her mother's. Was that even possible? Was she dreaming?

The Commoner not only dodged Kirei's second attack, he jumped back and fired with his other musket. The musket spewed forth not only one but several shots. What kind of magical weapon was it? Louise doubted whether her mother could cast simple offensive Wind spells so quickly. She kept watching, fearing for the safety of her familiar for the first time.

Kirei somersaulted backwards like a circus acrobat she had once seen in the royal court. He landed and proceeded to counter the magical musket's bullets with his swords. By the end of the attack, Kirei had somehow deflected every single bullet and had thus remained unharmed.

His swords, on the other hand, had received damage. The blades of several were broken, proving that the magical musket was much more dangerous than the other musket. Louise felt anxious once again. What could her familiar do with broken swords?

Louise received her answer, although it was not the type she was expecting. The remains of Kirei's blades disintegrated leaving only the hilts. He somehow hid them and waved his arms meaninglessly before standing in an awkward manner, his arms held in a strange manner. Louise felt like tearing her hair out.

"This is not the time to pose like Guiche! Do something!" She yelled, forgetting that the commoners were ignoring her.

The distance between the Commoner and Kirei was five steps. The difference was suddenly crossed by Kirei who seemed to glide over the ground and punched the Commoner in the abdomen. The Commoner was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall behind. The wall itself caved inside.

Louise was stunned. Kirei had been faster than before and not only that, his fists held great power. How had he gotten his hands of iron? How could a human gain enough power to shatter stone barehanded?

The Commoner's limp form fell to the ground. Kirei remained in his position for a few moments before finally turning around and walking away. Louise felt horrified. Kirei had surely killed the other man.

Both mistress and familiar seemed to have made the same mistake. The seemingly dead man suddenly raised his magical musket and fired a volley of shots once more. Kirei turned around just in time. Louise screamed in terror as she saw Kirei hit with the bullets.

Then felt puzzled as he did not fall over dead. It seemed that he had merely suffered a flesh wound on his skull from which a stream of blood had emerged and poured down his face, obscuring his left eye. What was Kirei made off? Or for the matter, his clothes? They weren't damaged at all yet the musket's bullets had been able to destroy Kirei's blades.

Instead, as soon as the Commoner stopped firing from the magical musket, Kirei charged at his opponent. The Commoner, no doubt depleting the magic of his magical musket, tossed it away. He jumped back and fumbled with his ordinary musket. By the time he had finished, Kirei was barely three steps away from the Commoner. Straightening his musket arm, he fired.

Once more Louise expected her familiar to die and once more Kirei defied her expectation. Although what he ended up doing was downright suicidal in Louise's opinion. He deflected the musket shot his right hand. With a sick feeling, Louise looked at Kirei's ruined hand.

The Commoner leapt at Kirei with an inhumane speed and tried to club him on the head with his musket. Kirei raised his right arm to defend himself. The entire forearm, which the musket had hit, seemed to bend. Louise realized that Kirei's arm was broken as well.

Not content on simply breaking her familiar's arm, the Commoner brought out a knife. Louise only had a moment to see the weapon after which the Commoner attempted to stab Kirei with a speed greater than any of them had exhibited as of yet.

Once again, Louise expected Kirei to die and once again Kirei defied Louise's expectations. The Commoner's hand was knocked away by Kirei's equally fast left hand. The Commoner started slashing at Kirei with blinding speed yet Kirei calmly stopped each attack. How could he see the knife and safely deflect it? Louise had no idea.

Kirei suddenly tripped up the commoner and attempted to punch him. Louise only saw his enclosed fist for a split second before it exploded forward, with a speed no mortal could dodge.

This time, it was the Commoner whom Louise fully expected to die. Just like Kirei, the Commoner proved Louise's thoughts wrong. His speed mysteriously increased once more, the Commoner leaped backwards, somersaulting through the air just like Kirei albeit not quite as gracefully. He threw his knife which struck Kirei's right thigh. The clothes, which had stood up to musket fire, were pierced and so was the flesh beneath them.

The Commoner started fumbling with his musket.

Kirei threw several of his swords at once.

The Commoner started straightening his arm.

Kirei leapt at his opponent with one leg, three swords in his left hand.

The two men were about to kill each other.

The ceiling exploded and some sort of inky black liquid fell.

* * *

Louise awoke with a start. Her entire body was covered with sweat. Her hands shivered a little as she recalled the fight to the death between two men. For the first time in her life had she understood the true meaning of violence, having somehow witnessed it in her dreams. Were the dreams real, showing her the past of her familiar? Or were they just fanciful constructs of her mind? Was she so desperate for a magnificent familiar that she had dreamt her familiar to be such a well honed weapon of war?

"Is there something wrong, Louise?" A polite voice came. Louise nearly jumped out of her bed when she heard the voice. Kirei was standing beside her bed, his eye seemingly drilling into her body.

Louise tightly gripped her blanket. Should she ask? Or should she not?

"Kirei, what did you do in your world? Were you a farmer? A soldier? What did you do for a living?" She said quickly, gazing at her familiar's face for some expression to appear.

None came. However, Louise's inquiry was answered.

"I was a hunter of heretics for the Church." Kirei responded, no emotion passing from his face. Louise absorbed that knowledge silently. She remembered part of the conditions he had declared that were necessary for her to follow before he became her familiar; the second condition was not to force him to change his religion. Louise wondered briefly whether his faith was part of the reason why he was a heretic hunter.

"How did you hunt heretics?" Louise asked. Kirei blinked.

"I would track them down and then kill them." Kirei said flatly.

"No, not that. I mean, did you use any special equipment to hunt them?" Louise asked, crossing her arms. She needed to confirm whether her dream was authentic or not. Kirei stared, his gaze seemingly becoming fathomless. Louise was afraid of looking into his eyes directly. Instead, she stared at his throat.

"mistress, you are goin to be late for classes." Kirei suddenly said and walked out of the room. Louise tried to think of a way to chastise Kirei but shook her head and proceeded to dress. She would have told Kirei to dress her, however she was still too disturbed by that dream. She hastily donned her garments and walked out of her room. Kirei was waiting outside.

"Kirei, you haven't answered my question." Louise said, sounding properly commanding like a Valliere.

"Indeed I haven't." Kirei responded.

"That's not it!" louise said in an irritated tone. However before she could continue, she was interrupted.

"Oh? Is the commoner not satisfied with his role? Is he demanding more money?" A throaty voice spoke. The voice belonged to Kirche, who was looking at the mistress and familiar with some amusement. A crimson lizard stood by her feet, his tail burning. Kirei looked at the beast dispassionately. The lizard backed away slightly until it stood behind his mistress's legs.

"Odd, Flame usually doesn't behave like that." Kirche mused. Louise suddenly recalled the dream she had and shuddered involuntarily. There was an old wives tale that animals, especially magical animals, could instinctively tell the nature of humans they interacted with. Perhaps there was some truth in that's statement after all.

"So, commoner, what's the matter? Is Louise not paying you enough for you to perform the role of a familiar?" The red head asked in a teasing tone.

"She is not paying me at all." Kirei deadpanned.

"I see, poor commoner. Tristainian nobles are really quite cruel, aren't they?" Kirche giggled.

"Kirche!" Louise roared, her pride as a Valliere wounded. Before she could cast any spell, the buxom noble had already scampered away laughing with her familiar.

"You! You! Yoooou!" Louise gritted her teeth, all the wonder from her dream having evaporated by Kirei's remark.

"Mistress, if you continue to waste time here, you might not be able to eat breakfast." Kirei said dryly. Louise realized what he meant and quickly headed towards the dining hall. With nearly soundless steps, Kirei followed her.

"All the familiars are in the court. You shall also feed yourself there." Louise told Kirei as she took her seat. Kirei looked at her with disinterest. Then without even protesting, turned around and left. Louise was expecting some sort of reaction from him but in the end, her familiar obeyed her as he should have. Louise snorted in a satisfied manner. At least he had some redeeming qualities.

Kirei stumbled for a bit when passing the first year girls on his way out. Louise watched him keep moving until he exited the hall after which she proceeded to eat.

* * *

Kirei languidly ate from the bowl the maid had brought her. It was too bad that it was so bland tasting but then again, Kirei had been through worse. Surely, a simple bowl of oatmeal porridge was worth being thankful for. The maid had been confused when she saw him. She had even inquired whether he had eaten or not. After Kirei asked for some food, she had quickly trotted back and brought back the bowl of oatmeal, apologizing that she couldn't ferret away some honey since it was reserved for nobles. It had been hard for Kirei to shut her up but he had finally told her that it did not matter, thanked her and then sent her away.

That maid was so boring that Kirei could think nothing. In any tragedy he wrote in his mind, the role she played was too large for her. Even simply killing her was too dull since Kirei imagined her using up her last breath to either comment on the weather or apologizing for something she was not guilty of. No, Kirei decided, this maid was simply something that would be left alone.

Now an actual tragic play had already started. Kirei had seen the students emerge from the main building, chattering and laughing. It was not the children themselves that interested Kirei. The ones who were the unwitting actors in Kirei's prologue were only three.

"Kirei, why are you staring so blankly? If you have nothing else to do, bring me some tea." Louise commanded.

"As you wish, mistress." Kirei said and left.

And that was when the prologue began.

There was a commotion on the side of the second year boys. Kirei noticed the same maid and approached her.

"Excuse me but what is all the racket about?" Kirei asked politely. The maid jumped, surprised by Kirei's sudden arrival.

"Well you see, Miss Montmorency suddenly started an argument with Miss Katie on the grounds that the perfume Miss Katie was wearing was the one Miss Montmorency gave to Lord Guiche. Then they started arguing about which one of them Lord Guiche loved and headed to meet him. Lord Guiche couldn't appease either of them and ended up getting slapped." The maid explained, not even pausing for breath.

"I see." Kirei said expressionlessly. Inside, however, Kirei felt a thrill of pleasure.

It was only the opening, he reminded himself. It was only the opening. There was no need for him to get excited and speed up the drama he had created. Had he not orchestrated a well done tragedy, that of Matou Kariya and Tohsaka Aoi, so perfectly? One even the King of Heroes himself had deemed good enough? There was no need to get carried away.

A blond girl with Victorian ringlets stormed past, her face looking like a thunder cloud. Kirei, with his sharp sight, noticed the shimmering in her eyes. The girl was holding back her tears valiantly, probably out of pride.

"That was Miss Montmorency." The maid informed.

There was no need to get carried. All he had done was pick Guiche's pocket at night and place the bottle of perfume in Katie's. Kirei was counting on human curiosity to continue the rest of the work. If Katie found a bottle of perfume in her pocket, she would naturally be curious enough to try it. And if Montmorency's claim of being able to detect her own pefume was true, only then would the play continue. If Katie had not found the perfume or Montmorency's boast happened to be an empty one, Kirei's plan would have fallen apart. Such a meager play could be written by anyone! There was no need to get carried away.

A small girl wearing a brown cloak ran past them. Her tears flowed freely, her attempts to hide them not succeeding at all. She was the very picture of heartache.

"That was Miss Katie." The maid quipped.

Kirei couldn't help himself. The girl's misery was the man's joy. After resisting the urge to do so for so long, Kirei finally gave in and smiled.

The narrator would like to note that Kotomine Kirei is a heartless bastard.

**If you find any grammatical mistakes or such in this chapter, please do tell.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four: In which the narrator assumes the voice of Jouji Nakata**_

Guiche de Gramont was currently feeling extremely foolish. He did not enjoy looking foolish, especially not in front of his own peers. Here he was talking, like a true nobleman-to-be and a future member of the court, about his various romantic exploits when he was rudely interrupted by his fiancé and another girl he was courting. Not only had they accused him of cheating, they had slapped him in public! As if he would do something as depraved as chase two women at the same time!

He had merely provided Katie with his company after he had escorted Montmonercy back to her room.

The narrator would like to point out that this basically fits the definition of 'cheating'.

"So, Guiche, I believe we now know which two 'roses' you were dating." Malicorne observed in a dry tone. The laughter that accompanied the unfunny comment was not flattering at all.

Guiche fought the urge to command Belldandy to fling dirt on the fat boy. His beautiful familiar, he had learned just yesterday, was capable of flinging large amounts of dirt with incredible power due to her huge paws. Having three elder brothers had at least taught the blonde one important lesson; Sometimes, remaining silent was a far better option.

The blonde dusted his shirt despite it being practically spotless and coughed in a dignified manner.

"Gentlemen, this is just an indicator that these roses did not wish to share me at all. Quite understandable but alas, I cannot devote myself fully to a single woman. Surely, since every woman in this Academy would want to enjoy my company, I should grace every one with my attention." Guiche said dramatically.

"So you are saying that you are the male counterpart of Kirche?" Someone else quipped. This time, the laughter was even more raucous. Even Guiche had a hard time stopping himself from smiling, only managing not to by biting his tongue. Brimir knows how scandalous it would be to smile at his own insults. Guiche briefly considered challenging Malicorne to a duel but then decided against it although not because it was forbidden but simply because he was afraid he would start laughing if he tried speaking.

Harrumphing with dignity, Guiche made his way back to the main building. Deep inside, he knew that no one would by his excuse and that he had only made it to save face. Unlike many other students in the Academy, Guiche was all too well aware about the futility of his situation. It was impossible for him to inherit the Gramont Estate since he was only the fourth son. His eldest brother, Honore de Gramont, would be the one to inherit the lion's share.

However, instead of trying to do anything, Guiche decided to do nothing because he had no ambition. Even if he couldn't inherit the state, he was sure that his brother would support him. That was why Guiche de Gramont took life too easy and had become a skirt chaser.

The narrator pities Guiche's naivety.

Guiche nobly strutted away from his acquaintances' company. He stopped when he noticed the familiar of Louise the Zero.

"Hey you! You are the country bumpkin that bumped into me the previous night!" Guiche exclaimed, glad to have found an outlet of his frustration. The familiar lazily turned to face him and asked in a solemn voice.

"Have we met?"

The simple question almost blew Guiche over. How could the oaf have forgotten him? That incompetent fool of a familiar had bumped into a noble. A noble, for the love of Brimir! Yet here he was asking whether he recalled meeting him! Were all commoners so stupid or did their parents always drop them at birth? Guiche mentally decided that it must be the latter.

"How could you have forgotten me? You collided with my noble person the previous night!" Guiche said in a loud voice.

The familiar frowned.

"There is no need to yell, young sir. And I never said that I do not recall meeting you. I simply asked you whether we had met. I felt the need to ask that question since in most noble's opinion, commoners are not worth their time and thus they don't pay attention to them, even if the need to remember them is quite urgent. Since you remember me, it must mean that somehow, I must have left a significant impression on you upon our acquaintance." The familiar said in a calm manner. Guiche briefly wondered how any man could say all that without losing his breath.

"Significant impression? Brimir's Blood, you knaves are as gormless as they come! You crashed into me while I was wooing my fiancé! Of course you would have made a significant impression!" Guiche ranted, recovering his wits which had been lost somewhere in the familiar's overly long reply.

"Should I be impressed by the fact that I made an impression on you?" The familiar of Zero asked. Guiche nearly ground his perfect white teeth to dust.

"Yes, you should be! A noble doesn't even pay attention to the likes of you most of the time. Now that you have incurred my wrath, you should be more than just impressed. You should be afraid!" Guiche said, brandishing his rose wand like a sword. The Familiar of Zero only looked at the wand in a disinterested manner.

"Pardon me, young sir, but having just witnessed you getting slapped by two girls, I am sorry to say that you do not scare me the slightest." The Familiar said in a bored tone.

The narrator would like to note that even if Guiche hadn't been slapped by his two girlfriends, he would not have looked very intimidating.

Guiche de Gramont was on the verge of summoning all sixteen of his Valkyrie Golems and order them to destroy the man in front of him. Before he could even wave his wand, the situation was resolved by the most unexpected person.

"Stand down, Gramont." A sharp and commanding voice rang out. Guiche felt the urge to stand straight. Even Kirei turned his head sharply in the voice's direction.

Guiche de Gramont had once read the expression 'a fury like cold fire' in his favorite war novel. It had been used to describe the hero's anger on learning that his fiancé had perished in an enemy raid. For several days, he had wondered about the expression before finally thinking that it was an invented expression. Anger was never cold. It was explosive.

And now, the only phrase that came in his mind at seeing Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere's face was 'a fury like a cold fire'. Her voice had a sharpness that would have made Guiche's father snap to attention.

"Guiche de Gramont, would you please explain what is going on here?" Louise asked. Somehow, Guiche was sure that he would not be able to lie.

"I was talking with your familiar, Miss Valliere." Guiche said, subconsciously avoiding referring her as 'Louise'.

"Are you sure? Is it normal for nobles to brandish their wands at other noble's familiars during conversations?" Louise pressed.

"No." Guiche answered tersely.

"Then I suggest that you refrain from doing so. Otherwise, I shall translate this gesture as an attack on the Valliere family and treat it as such." She said.

"Let's go, Kirei." She said as she turned around to leave.

Guiche de Gramont felt utterly mortified. In less than half an hour, he had been slapped by the very two girls he was courting, laughed at by his peers, humiliated by a commoner familiar and then reprimanded by said familiar's mistress. Truly, he must have sinned greatly sometime ago. Why else would the Founder punish him so unjustly?

Why indeed?

* * *

Jean Colbert suppressed a sneeze as he searched through the various tomes in the library's deepest sections. The Academy's library boasted a collection of over fifty thousand books and tomes of sorts. Ranging from magic to history to literature to religion, there was no subject that the library did not cover.

Yet he could not find the thing he was searching for.

"I could have sworn that I had seen those set of ruins before. But where?" Colbert muttered. He restlessly pulled out another tome, quickly flipped through it and put it back in its place with an exasperated sigh.

A sudden swish of cloth warned Colbert of someone's arrival. With a speed unexpected from a teacher, he whirled around and pointed his staff at the newcomer.

"Oh, it's you." Colbert said in a relieved voice. Peeking over the book, Tabitha nodded. Colbert straightened himself. He didn't know why he had reacted like that. Perhaps the arrival of Miss Valliere's familiar had somehow rekindled the Fire Snake in him. Maybe his passive battle instincts had warned him.

"Well, how may I help you, Miss Tabitha?" Colbert asked. He was quite curious about her presence. She was an avid reader but as far as he knew, she preferred literature and magical theory as compared to history.

"Heard you." The bluette answered shortly. Colbert frowned. He was sure that he was not making a sound. Years spent in the military had taught him the art of walking softly. Was her hearing that sharp?

"Why?" Tabitha asked. Colbert was further mystified. Tabitha only consulted him about important matters on fire magic, something she was not proficient in considering that her elements were wind and water. For her to take an interest in him was unexpected. She was a withdrawn girl who kept to herself and rarely interfered in other people's matters.

"I am searching for a certain piece of information." Colbert answered her shortly.

"What?" Tabitha pressed further. Colbert felt defensive. Why had Tabitha suddenly taken an interest in his activities? Nonetheless, he decided to humor the little girl.

"About Miss Valliere's familiar." Colbert answered shortly, hoping that the answer would satisfy her curiosity.

Tabitha nodded slowly and appeared to think for a moment. She then turned around and left. Colbert breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure on how to deal with her. He also felt unwilling to discuss his interest in Miss Valliere's familiar for some reason. He mentally shook himself and continued his search.

Only to be interrupted by the bluette again.

"What is it, Miss Tabitha?" Colbert asked, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. The girl wordlessly extended a book towards him which Colbert took, intrigued. Had she found some relevant information before him? He looked at the book's cover.

"Tales of the Founder?" He read aloud, his curiosity withering. Tabitha had handed him a book on fairy tales and legends. This was not accurate history at all. He looked up, a look of exasperation briefly high lighting his face.

"Miss Tabitha, as much as I appreciate your assistance, I must ask you to refrain from depending on such inaccurate sources of information. They happen to be incorrect and will fill your head with the wrong notions." He said as calmly as possible. Tabitha did not bat an eye and simply opened the book for him, flipping through the pages until she came to an illustrated page which showed the Founder and his familiars. Colbert studied the picture for a few moments but failed to find it relevant.

"Miss Tabitha-" He began but was silenced by Tabitha waving her staff. A small circlet of water appeared above the book, magnifying the picture. Colbert looked through the water and then gasped.

On the left hand of the Founder's female familiar were the exact same ruins as the ones on Miss Valliere's familiar.

"Impossible! The Gandalfr? The Legendary Left Hand of God!" Colbert murmured. He felt dizzy. Did that mean that the Promised Time was upon them already? He looked up sharply.

"How did you find this?" He asked in a stern voice which failed to faze the bluette.

"Remembered." She answered briefly.

"Why did you search for it?" Colbert demanded.

"Strange familiar." She replied. Colbert mentally agreed. To summon a human as a familiar was indeed quite strange and unheard of. Not only that, as a general rule, most familiars arrived in perfectly good health. Miss Valliere hadn't just summoned a human familiar, she had summoned a mangled human familiar who looked as if he had just fought for his very life. Being one of the few bibliophile students, it was understandable that Tabitha had decided to research the history of familiar summoning. Another thought suddenly struck Colbert.

"Do the rest of the students know about this?" He asked urgently. Tabitha slowly shook her head in negative.

Colbert felt relief washing over him. It would be disastrous if they discovered that Miss Valliere was a Void Mage. Declaring to be one without proof was a heresy which was not tolerated at all and would warrant an execution. Indeed, as Colbert recalled, most of the students hadn't paid attention to the familiar himself and were busy choking on the smoke which had been caused by the summoning. Now that Colbert thought about it, he doubted whether the students had seen the state the familiar had been in. They would still probably be dismissing him as a commoner bribed by Miss Valliere.

All the better, Colbert thought grimly. Just because the runes on the familiar's hand were the same as the ones in the book did not mean that Miss Valliere's status as a Void mage would be confirmed. The duty on establishing it fell on him.

"Please come with me, Miss Tabitha. We need to have a talk with the Headmaster." Colbert curtly said, as he gripped the book tightly. The bluette simply nodded and followed him out of the silent library. After climbing several staircases and traversing many corridors, they finally appeared in front of Old Osmond's office door. Colbert threw it open without knocking.

Only to witness the Headmaster being ruthlessly beaten by his secretary, Miss Longueville.

"Osmond!" Colbert cried out in shock, all tension about Tabitha's discovery forgotten.

"Colbert?" The old headmaster said in a surprised tone.

Tabitha remained silent. Miss Longueville stopped her assault on the Headmaster and walked to her desk with an indignant huff.

"Headmaster, I bear important news." Colbert said, observing proper decorum this time.

"Hmm? And what might that be?" Old Osmond said, seating himself behind his desk. Colbert took a deep breath as he prepared to convey the news.

"I believe that Miss Valliere is a Void Mage and that her familiar is the Gandalfr." He said.

He expected Old Osmond to violently lash out or for him to deny the statement. Instead, the elderly mage put his pipe in his mouth and smoked a little.

"Do you have any evidence backing that claim?" He asked calmly.

"Yes." Colbert said and presented the illustration, pointing at the female's hand. Old Osmond squinted for a moment. Tabitha helpfully cast the same spell again and aided the Headmaster in inspecting the drawing.

"A well made picture no doubt. But this is a book on myths and legends, Mister Colbert. Even if the runes on his hand match the runes depicted here, I am afraid that does not prove that Miss Valliere is a legitimate Void mage. Indeed, since this does not merit as concrete evidence, any declaration about her status is far more likely to get her executed as a heretic instead of getting recognized as a Void mage." Old Osmond said.

"But but but!" Colbert stammered, repeating the same word over and over.

"Jean Colbert, do you even have an inkling to what you are suggesting? The Gandalfr is one of the four familiars of the Founder. With the blessing to be able to wield any weapon of war, it was a being capable of defeating mages, of destroying armies and if legend is to be believed, being far stronger than elves themselves. True, a human summon is an unusual thing but that does not automatically rank it as a Void Familiar. Even if I acknowledge these runes to be authentic, the Court and the Papacy may not. Furthermore, one would expect the Gandalfr to be a far more majestic and intelligent being than some commoner. And feminine too!" Old Osmond said, adding the last part out of the blue. His sentence was answered by a book to the face.

"Feminine?" Miss Longueville growled.

"Why yes! If you shall observe this illustration, it clearly shows the Gandalfr to be a woman!" Old Osmond said happily the blood flowing from his cut lip, all traces of seriousness gone.

"Objection! Osmond, your current statement directly contradicts your previous one!" Colbert interrupted.

"Really? I see no contradiction." Osmond said in a confused voice.

"Previously, you stated that this book does not constitute as concrete evidence yet now you were referencing the same book! That is clearly a contradiction!" Colbert said.

In the narrator's opinion, Jean Colbert would have made an excellent attorney.

"Well yes, I made a mistake but it has no consequence to our argument. The requirements to be recognized as a Void mage are much more than just a matching set of runes from a fairy tale and the word of two mages. I am sorry, Jean Colbert, but there is nothing I can do. Your proof is just too weak. If you will be kind enough to leave since I have to deal with these reports from the Court about one Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt." Old Osmond said with a theatrical sigh.

"Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt? You mean that Mage Thief who has been terrorizing the nobles lately?" Colbert said, his curiosity piqued.

"Yes, the very same. Apparently, she was sighted near the Academy and the Court has once again urged us to increase the security and magical barriers. As if this building needs additional shielding. Why the sheer amount of magic makes my old bones shiver sometimes! I would like to see Fouquet take her chances! She would never be able to get her hands on any of the magical artifacts in this building!" Old Osmond said with a grand gesture that threatened to knock his inkpot over. Colbert resisted the urge to interrupt. In his experience, whenever soldiers and mages got overconfident on the battlefield, bad things happened. Sam could be applied to peace times.

"Oh, so what color was it this time, Montosognir? Plain white, eh? Too bad, I do believe that black would be a better color." The perverted Headmaster spoke with his field mouse familiar, ignoring his surroundings, only to be assaulted by his secretary once again as the poor woman realized that the rodent had been looking up her skirt. Colbert sighed deeply. It was clear that Old Osmond had no intention in helping them at all.

"Let's go, Miss Tabitha. I believe that we are not welcome here anymore." The fire mage said in a sad tone and exited the room. The bluette briefly studied the headmaster and the secretary before turning around and leaving as well. She quickly caught up with her teacher, who was angrily mumbling to himself.

"Such a shame too. I was so sure that I would be able to convince him that Miss Valliere was a Void Mage. But then again, he did raise important counter arguments as well." Colbert continued mumbling to himself.

"No. Convinced." Tabita suddenly said. Colbert looked at his student with a confused look.

"Who? The Headmaster? How can you say so?" He asked. Tabitha's brows creased slightly as she mentally searched for the appropriate set of words.

"Faking vulgarity." Tabitha said briefly. Colbert frowned.

"I shall admit that I am not good in observing people. I find alchemy much more understandable. But the Headmaster always behaves in that way, Miss Tabitha. I don't think he was faking his vulgarity." Colbert said a little sadly. Years spent as a cold blooded killer had left him unable to socialize with fellow man. Colbert's view of the world was rather extreme, with people being categorized in black and white, as offender and victim.

Tabitha did not deign to reply to Colbert's statement. Instead, she headed towards the female dormitories. Colbert watched his student walk away, thinking hard. Finally he walked back to the library and started searching once again. Only this time, he combed the books on religion instead of history. He mentally thanked Miss Tabitha for pointing him in the correct direction.

* * *

Kotomine Kirei quietly left his mistress's bedroom. Louise had been extremely tired for some reason and had gone to bed early. Not that Kirei had any qualms with her sleeping habits. He wanted to sneak out of the castle and head towards the midden where the remains of his clothes had been disposed of and salvage some of his Black Key hilts. They were the only weapons he knew how to use in this strange world. The priest silently walked out of the building and into the grassy courtyard. He looked up and saw the two moons. They only proved something he already knew; that he had been transported into another world.

Kirei would have continued if he hadn't heard the sound of someone sobbing. Interested, the priest decided to investigate and found a young girl crying.

A girl sitting on a stone bench.

A girl known as Katie.

All thoughts of retrieving his Black Keys were lost after seeing unfinished art in front of him. Art like this should be finished as soon as possible. He waited patiently as she cried. Sooner or later, she would stop for a moment and be lucid to listen to him. And then he would speak.

"Wh-who are you?" Katie said through shuddering breaths. Kirei looked at her face. One would say that his expression was that of complete disinterest but someone who knew him well enough would notice a gleam in her eye.

"Someone who is willing to listen to your troubles." Kirei answered. Katie nodded, tears still flowing over her blotched cheeks. Her form shuddered as she suddenly resumed crying and continued to do so for a good minute or two while the tall man watched silently.

"I," Katie said between sobs. "Found my- lover- had been-" She suddenly stopped as a fresh burst rendered her incapable of speech.

"Yes?" Kirei said in a prodding manner.

"I found- that he had been- seeing another woman." Katie said then gulped. With a shallow breath she continued.

"I loved him so much! But- he still did not give himself to me- as I had given myself to him! Why? Why would he not love me- whole heartedly?" Katie asked and then resumed her crying. Kirei patiently waited once more.

"What had you done to make sure that he remained faithful?" Kirei said slowly.

"Everything!" Katie wailed. Kirei cocked his eye brows.

"Everything?" He questioned.

"Yes, everything! I gave my heart to him, I devoted my time to him, I made him soufflés!" Katie listed off desperately. Kirei stopped himself from sneering. This was just like how people sometimes confessed to him, listing off all the good deeds they had done and asking why hadn't God bestowed his gifts on them. Only here, a little girl was counting the number of things she had done to earn the attention of her beloved.

"Ah yes, soufflés, such a wonderful way of winning one's lover's affections." Kirei spoke. Fortunately, Katie did not catch the hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Then why doesn't he- love me? What have I not done?" Katie wailed. Kirei waited for her voice to die down before he could continue speaking.

"The question here isn't what you haven't done but what you have. You claim that you gave yourself to him," Kirei said and looked at her expectantly. Katie nodded back vigorously. "But did he ever want you to begin with?" Kirei asked. Katie's breath was caught in her chest as Kirei spoke the final sentence.

"What do you mean? Of course he loved me! Why else would he court me?" She asked, her tone betraying her panic. Kirei's eye's positively glowed as she saw her stricken expression. The art was improving.

"Why does a man court multiple women? Why is one woman not sufficient for him? Some men do not have a great sense of self worth. In order to fill that emptiness within, they desperately search for methods. One way to do it is by having many lovers." Kirei said and paused to stare at Katie. His gaze drilled into her and the girl shifted uncomfortably.

"However, if he does find someone who loves them truly, then that hole is filled. If you truly believe that you loved your beloved, why did he cheat then?" Kirei asked.

Silence reigned through the courtyard as Katie suddenly became very quiet. The chirping of the crickets could be heard clearly. Kirei, on the other hand, felt joy bloom in his heart. The piece of work that he was laboring on was about to be finished.

"Why?" Katie whispered.

"You claim that you devoted yourself to him. But if that was true, wouldn't he also return your feelings? Instead, from what I gather, you pretended that love is all about happiness. You did not care about the other's opinion. You haven't looked in his heart deep enough to see what kind of a person he was. In short, you failed as a lover." Kirei said.

The silence was even more painful now. Kirei noticed that Katie's eyes were quite still. They looked dull, as if life had been drained from them. Kirei turned around to leave.

"What should I do?" Katie asked in a hoarse whisper. Kirei considered for a moment.

"If you truly love him, you would not impose yourself on him. You would disappear from his life and let him have a chance at filling the void that might be in his heart." Kirei said and then walked away.

Gullible. Truly gullible. Kirei was hoping that she might have resisted a bit more, tried to deny his words, tried to shout him down, perhaps even physically attack him. Breaking something so rebellious had its own fine taste, something Kirei greatly enjoyed. But she had been easily swayed. Kirei felt mixed reactions. On one hand, he was satisfied on completing a work of art. But on the other hand, it was over too quickly. The pleasure had been fleeting and wasn't even intense enough.

His original purpose forgotten, Kotomine Kirei walked back to the building, trying to savor the pleasure for as long as he could. Behind him, the girl sat on the stone bench, a blank look on her face.

* * *

Guiche de Gramont did not like rising so early in the morning but it was unfortunate that classes started so early. However, today was a strange exception. Dawn had not even broken yet someone was already violently knocking on his door.

"What is that infernal banging? What is it?" Guiche bellowed. He had a hard day yesterday and wanted nothing more than to sleep the humiliation off. He opened the door and stopped short.

"Montmorency?" H said in a surprised tone. What was even more surprising was that she was silently crying.

"Guiche." She managed to stammer out. Guiche just looked at her dumbly.

"It's Katie." She said.

"What about Katie?" Guiche asked in a confused tone.

"She killed herself." Montmorency said before finally breaking down crying.

_The narrator would like to note that the next chapter will be quite a bit late. This chapter was also late because the narrator was giving his exams._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five: In which the narrator makes a groan inducing joke**_

"Feeling better, mistress?" The black haired maid asked Louise who nodded her head slowly, the pain in her stomach subsiding. She had been heaving her guts out in a bucket for five minutes and had started to vomit on the floor before that. Her abdomen was feeling better now. Her heart, on the other hand, felt as if it had been filled to the brim with cold water.

She had been woken before dawn by a loud scream which had been followed by a set of more of screams, both male and female. She had gotten out of bed and donned her cloak. Still quite drowsy, she had made her way to the source of the noise, determined to tell off whoever was making the racket. Arriving at a particular room, she burst inside to find it filled with students wearing their nightclothes. Blearily, she pushed them aside and went to the center of the room, intent on speaking her mind.

Then stopped.

And promptly emptied the contents of her stomach on the handsome rug on the floor. She was helped to her feet by a maid who gave her a bucket to vomit in.

Lying on the floor with a pair of bloodied scissors was Katie. Her throat had not been slit as much as pried open, probably with the scissors. The snow white rug was now blood red. Louise had only looked at Katie's ruined throat once and couldn't bear to look at it again. The very sight of it made her ill.

"Why would she do something so terrible?" Louise thought, her tears welling up.

"Sometimes, the loss of a loved one's attention drives people to do irrational things. Sometimes, external factors after such a loss don't help them instead cause them to despair even more." Kirei spoke. Louise looked up. He seemed to have risen at the sound of screaming with her and had followed her to her room. For once, her voice did not irritate her as he offered his words of wisdom.

Instead, his words along with his expression made his statement sound morbid. The calm, nearly cold face he wore did not seem to go well with the atmosphere. Louise forced herself to look up and around. Most of the girls were still sobbing, crying or had fainted. The boys were not doing much better. There were only two calm people in the room, the maid and Kirei.

"Has anyone gone to notify the authorities?" Kirei asked in a collected voice.

"Tabitha." Kirche said, her tone quite unsteady. Kirei simply nodded at the response. So there was a third person who managed to keep their wits about in the situation, Louise concluded.

"How can you stay so calm in this situation?" She asked in an effort to distract herself. She was now talking just to take her mind off the corpse. She could have walked out of the room and back to her bed but she didn't feel strong enough. And her pride as a Valliere did not allow her to be carried by her familiar.

"I have seen death in many forms. This one is relatively tame." Kirei answered, promptly making Louise wish she hadn't asked such a question.

In the narrator's opinion, you don't ask for Kirei's opinion at all. Even a simple question on how to iron clothes would end up with an 'ironic' death.

Kirei suddenly moved to the bedside table, pushing aside the still stupefied student populace. He picked up something and inspected it for a few moments. He came back and handed the object to her.

It was a letter.

'_Guiche, my beloved,_

_I am disappearing from your life so that you can be happy._

_Yours in death, Katie.'_

Louise silently read. Her eyes hardened.

"That was quite selfless of her." Kirei commented dryly. Louise chose not to retort. Gathering up her courage, she looked up and scanned the room. Guiche was nowhere to be found. He was probably still sleeping.

"Montmorency!" She barked out. The poor girl looked up fearfully. The rest of the children also jumped in fright at the sharpness of her voice.

"Yes?" Montmorency asked in a quiet voice.

"Bring Gramont here. He has a hand in this." Louise said. Montmorency looked perplexed but Louise stern gaze made sure she obeyed. She tersely nodded and hurriedly trotted away.

A few moments after Montmorency's departure, Mister Colbert and Madame Chevreuse burst into to the room. Madame Chevreuse fainted immediately after seeing the corpse while Mister Colbert's expression hardened.

"Everyone, back to your rooms. There is nothing to see here. Come on!" Colbert said, shooing the students away. Reluctantly, the students started to move out of the room. The trauma of seeing the dead body of someone they knew had made them confused and terrified. By that time, most of the other faculty had arrived, in their night clothes and had started helping Colbert to various degrees.

Within five minutes, the room was cleared save for Louise, Kirei and the teachers.

The narrator is not sure whether the presence of a dead body constitutes as another person or not. Just to be safe, the narrator declares that he supports all the rights dead people are supposed to have.

"You two. You should also be in bed at this hour." Colbert admonished the pinkette.

Louise simply handed the letter to Colbert, now partially tear stained because of her. Colbert tentatively took the letter and quickly read it. His already hardened gazed now steeled.

"Thank you for your co-operation, Miss Valliere, but there is nothing more you can do now. Please go back to your room and rest." Colbert said. Louise realized by this point that arguing any further would be pointless. Besides, despite having seen such a disturbing sight, she was feeling sleepy.

After stumbling through the corridors, Louise finally reached her room and went to sleep. She didn't even drink the sleeping potion which she always kept at hand.

The priest himself remained awake for a few more minutes, silently reliving his conversation with the deceased girl.

"May God save her soul." He whispered to himself in Japanese before closing his eyes.

[Scene Change]

Guiche de Gramont was extremely terrified. He had been woken up by Montmonercy and taken to Katie's room where Mister Colbert had grabbed him and taken him to the Headmaster's office.

He was currently sitting in Old Osmond's office and witnessing the bickering between several teachers. All twenty five teachers were present inside the Headmaster's office, not including the Headmaster and her assistant. Most of the shouting and arguing, however, was going on between Miss Chevreuse, Mister Charbonneau, Mister Colbert and Miss Seine. The rest of the faculty was simply watching, and secretly enjoying, the parliament between the four of them. Miss Chevreuse and Mister Charbonneau were arguing in his favor while Mister Colbert and Miss Seine were against him.

"Look, Jean, I understand that you are upset…" Miss Chevreuse started once again before she was shot down.

"Upset? Of course he would be upset! A student has committed suicide, for Brimir's sake! All because of that fop over there!" Miss Seine yelled back.

Guiche cringed. Even the teachers hated him.

"Surely not all the blame rests on the boy, Cosette. He has erred, no doubt, but to blame him for indirectly murdering his lover is going too far!" Mister Charbonneau said, twirling his moustache. Guiche cringed even more. Pierre Charbonneau was one of the most conservative aristocrats and was distantly related to the Gramont family which was why he had stepped forward to defend Guiche.

Any other day, his aid would have been welcome but today, he was only worsening the situation. Even if one disregarded the fact that Guiche was ignorant of the effects of his wrong doing and that he was innocent of the crime, he was still in trouble for being the cause behind the suicide.

"We are not here blaming him for the murder in the first place, Pierre. We are here discussing on how to break the news to the Gagnon family." Jean sighed. There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone was reminded about that fact. Katie Gagnon de Navarre was the third daughter of Chevalier Auguste Gagnon de Navarre, Captain of the Palace Guard and one of the most eccentric nobles of Tristain.

Eccentric since he adopted his mistress's daughter, Katie, into his official family, despite his family's disagreement. Many nobles still treated him with subtle contempt. Subtle because, in spite of his eccentricity, he was still an adept leader of the Palace Guards. Of course, one did not earn the title of Chevalier without performing some great service to the Crown. So no matter how strange other nobles perceived him to be, Auguste Gagnon de Navarre was treated with a degree of respect.

If he learned that his daughter had committed suicide because her heart had been broken by someone from the Gramont family, another feud would ensue. The Gagnon and the Gramont had always been at each other's throats over the pettiest of things. Something like a ruined affair and subsequently a suicide would be enough to cause a bloody feud.

Guiche lamented chasing Katie in the first place. Unlike her, he was well aware of the feud between the two families. In a show of romantic bravado, he had seduced her and had basked in the moment of glory. Now here he was, an instigator of another probable feud. Since the Gramont family was at fault here, there was no doubt that as a show of apology, he would be disowned and disinherited. And that was the best case scenario. The worst ended with him in the middle of a political conflict.

The bickering was cut short by Miss Longueville screaming hysterically. Everyone jumped, frightened by such a terrifying sound.

"What is it, Matilda? Don't scare us like that!" Miss Chevreuse said, placing a hand on her chest.

"M-Manticore!" She stammered in a frightened voice. This statement grabbed everyone's attention.

"A manticore you say? Where did you see it, Miss Longueville?" Mister Charbonneau said, fingering his moustache.

"It just landed in the Vestri Court." Miss Longueville answered.

"Was anyone riding on it?" Mister Colbert asked warily. He shot Old Osmond a dirty look, who shrugged noncommittally. Jean Colbert's soldier instinct told him that Old Osmond was as guilty as he looked suspicious.

"A man in armor with a mask covering the lower half of his face. I can see him dismounting the manticore." Matilda Longueville said, her eyes glued at the mysterious newcomer outside.

"Osmond, you didn't." Colbert whispered. Guiche was confused. What had the Headmaster done? And how had Mister Colbert realized it? And most importantly of all, who was the masked stranger?

He got his answer a second later.

"WELL, YOU LECHEROUS TEACHER! I CAME AS YOU ASKED! WHAT IS THIS IMPORTANT BUSINESS THAT YOU WANTED TO DISCUSS WITH ME?" A thunderous voice, reinforced with Wind Magic, asked. The windows of the building shook violently but fortunately did not shatter. Old Osmond grasped his head in his hands.

"I can't believe she concealed her gender all those years ago. Such an unsubtle student." Osmond chuckled.

"The Manticore Knights are known for tearing their enemies to pieces, which is not very subtle to begin with." Colbert deadpanned.

"True. Remember how she proposed to the Duke of Valliere? Some say that she held him at sword point and demanded that he marry her." Osmond said.

"I heard that he proposed to her and she challenged him to a duel." Colbert commented.

"How would he have married her if she challenged him to a duel? He would have lost immediately!" Osmond objected. Colbert simply shrugged.

The door to the study opened with a bang and Karin Desiree de La Valliere walked in. She had removed her metallic mask but not the rest of her battered battle armor. A basket hilt sword hung at her left side while her wand was in her right. The crowd of teachers immediately stepped away from her as she approached the Headmaster's desk. The only who did not move away were Old Osmond and Jean Colbert.

"Valliere" Colbert said stiffly.

"Colbert" Karin acknowledged. Then she immediately turned to the Headmaster.

"Well, what is it that you wanted to discuss?" She said sternly. A mere noble would have melted under her gaze. Osmond, on the other hand, was no mere noble.

"I also added the fact that it was secret." He retorted.

"Bah. Secrets. A Valliere does not keep secrets. A Valliere has nothing to be ashamed of. Whatever it is, you can speak about it freely." Karin said coldly. Even Colbert felt a chill by the sharpness of her words. Even though the statement meant well, it could also be interpreted as the exact opposite i.e. a failed Valliere is not a Valliere.

Old Osmond sighed.

"Miss Chevreuse?" He called out. The entire room's population had sneaked off, with Pierre Charbonneau being the first and Miss Chevreuse being the unfortunate last. She stopped and turned around, a bead of sweat pouring down her face.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Please escort Mister Gramont to his room and shut the door behind you." Old Osmond instructed. Relief washed over the plump woman's face as she pulled Guiche along with her and led him outside the room.

[Scene Change]

"So," Karin said, as if both Colbert and Old Osmond were war criminals. "What matter was so urgent that required you to summon me on such urgent notice?"

"Have you eaten anything, Madame Valliere?" Old Osmond asked courteously.

"Such formality, Osmond. Surely you don't need to refer me like that. I am still your favorite student, Karin, am I not?" Karin smiled, her voice losing some of the edge.

"Spare me, Madame Valliere. If I had known that you would have grown up to become the Heavy Wind, I would have moved to Gallia and settled down with another wife. Possibly one with red hair." Old Osmond said, shaking his head while lighting his pipe.

"You should have received the warning signs, Osmond. She did give you a sound beating for peering up the female student's skirts, didn't she?" Colbert interjected.

"My bones still ache in memory of that event." Osmond admitted, smoking his pipe peacefully.

"Well, pleasant memories aside, what did you want to discuss? I have come here as fast as Bedivere could fly. Please do not disappoint me." The duchess asked. She noticed the look the Headmaster and Jean Colbert shared.

"Is it Louise again?" She asked with a sigh. Osmond hesitated for a moment.

"Yes." Colbert said. Karin noticed Osmond's facial expression.

"What has she done this time?" Karin asked wearily. She suddenly sat up, startling the two men. "Don't tell me she accidentally killed someone?" She asked, fear reflecting in her eyes.

"No no, Louise isn't involved in the killing!" Osmond blabbered.

"Osmond!" Colbert said in a shocked tone.

"Pardon me! My bones were aching!" Osmond stammered.

"Keep this up and you'll end up without your beard." Colbert threatened.

"Both of you keep this up and you'll regret keeping me ignorant of this matter." Karin said calmly. The two men looked at each other once more.

"What do you want to hear about first? Louise or the murder?" Osmond said.

"Tell me about the murder first." Karin commanded. Colbert complied and told her everything.

"Hmph, as expected from someone from the Gramont family. A fop and a casanova. Don't they understand the concept of fidelity?" Karin snorted.

"You are treating this very lightly, Madame Valliere. What about the ensuing political battle?" Colbert said sharply. Karin looked at the bald man sharply but Colbert refused to back down this time.

"I will talk to Gagnon myself. We cannot stop this but we can soften the blow." Karin stated.

"Big words coming from a Manticore Knight." Osmond sniffed.

"Everything cannot be solved with force alone, Madame Valliere. Gagnon would want revenge for his daughter." Colbert said firmly.

"Who said anything about forcing him? Surely he would listen to his former superior?" Karin smiled.

"Gagnon was your subordinate?" Colbert said in a surprised voice.

"And a good one as well although he was just a common Knight at that time." Karin added.

"Those words alone are enough to give someone the rank of Chevalier. It is very rare for Karin the Heavy Wind to actually praise somebody." Old Osmond noted.

"Marianne made him Chevalier for exactly the same reason. He hasn't disappointed the Crown yet and neither will he ever." Karin said.

"Probably because he is terrified on what you will do to him if he ever fails." Colbert noted dryly. Instead of getting angry, Karin simply snorted in amusement.

"Probably." She agreed. Then her face grew serious again.

"Back to the meat of the matter. What has Louise done? How much trouble is she in?" She asked in her usual sharp tone.

"Well she hasn't done anything wrong. Quite the opposite in fact. You see, she succeeded in summoning a familiar in the Springtime Ritual." Osmond said. Karin heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh praise Brimir!" Karin said in a genuinely happy voice. "I was afraid that she would turn out to be a commoner of noble birth. So what did she summon? A dragon? A griffin? A manticore? A bug bear?" Karin said excitedly. Jean Colbert found himself mildly disturbed by this facet of Karin the Heavy Wind's personality. In his opinion, he could picture Karin as many things. Swordswoman, Knight, Wind Mage, Terror of the Battlefield but seeing her as a loving mother was rather out of place.

"Karin," Old Osmond said in a gentle voice. "I trust that you will be able to handle the news well? The news about your daughter's familiar, that is."

"Of course, Osmond. Why should I not be?" Karin said, losing a little of her cheer. But the way Osmond spoke alerted her.

"Karin, Louise summoned a human." Old Osmond said.

Silence fell in the room. A deadly silence. Colbert could hear his own breathing. He could even hear Karin's breathing.

"What?" Karin said, her voice extremely cold now.

"Louise summoned a human familiar." Old Osmond repeated clearly.

The silence returned but was almost immediately broken.

"How dare she? How dare she stain the Valliere name? A commoner? That is not possible at all. She must have paid him. If she was a failure, it would have been a simple matter of confessing to me. I would have married her to Wardes anyways. Why did she have to deceive everyone?" Karin seethed and got up but was immediately forced to sit again. Surprised by the pressure on her shoulders, she looked up to see a very determined Colbert.

"I think the Headmaster very clearly said that Louise summoned a human familiar. She did not pay one to act as one." Colbert said, struggling to force the pinkette to remain seated.

"Jean, remove your hand." Karin said.

"Only if you promise not to go after Louise." Colbert replied tersely.

"Jean" Karin said, her voice rising. The wind in the room started to pick up.

"Karin" Colbert said, gritting his teeth. Embers appeared suddenly and were swept around the room, glowing but not dying.

"Stand down, both of you!" Old Osmond said in a loud voice, a sudden gust of wind blowing through the office. The windows and the doors strained to burst open but managed not get damaged. "Really now, I thought I taught you better than that! Still acting like students, both of you!" He harrumphed as the miniature and short lived gale died down.

"He started it!" Karin said childishly, pointing at Colbert. Old Osmond shook his head.

"Let's just focus on the present situation shall we? And put old rivalries behind us." Osmond suggested forcefully.

"Teacher's pet." Karin muttered.

"Tattletale." Colbert retorted in a whisper.

"I can hear you." Osmond said.

"Anyways, what made you think that the commoner is a familiar?" Karin asked.

"He has a set of ruins on the back of his left hand that appeared as soon as Louise contracted him." Colbert said.

"Wait," Karin interrupted. "The contract wasn't established as soon as he was summoned? Louise actually had to cast the spell on that commoner herself?"

"Well, human summons are supposed to be special so this must be a special case. They do work on random creatures though, don't they? If a mage fancies a particular creature enough, he might forsake the ritual itself and cast the spell on the creature directly to make it his familiar. Although, considering that a kiss on the lips is the requirement, no wonder people prefer the traditional method. Imagine kissing a dragon or a manticore!" Colbert said and then kept rambling until he realized what he had said.

"Excuse me while I meet this familiar. I am very curious about him." Karin said stiffly.

"Oh no you don't, Karin! I nursed that man back to health and I am not letting you near him just so that you can kill him for kissing your daughter! I don't want him to get injured again!" Colbert said, swiftly moving between Karin and the door.

"Again? He arrived injured?" Karin said, her anger abating at the news.

"Yes, quite gravely. His heart had been ripped out and he looked as if he had fought for his life." Colbert said, using his index finger to push up his glasses.

"So Louise summoned a dead familiar?" Karin asked.

"Pay attention to my entire conversation, Karin! He was and is alive! And I am not letting you kill him!" Colbert said.

"He can't be human! No human can survive having their heart destroyed." Karin said firmly.

"He is a human, Karin. Believe me. A remarkable one but a human nonetheless." Colbert said.

"Then he can't be a familiar. No human has ever been summoned as a familiar before." Karin said, folding her arms.

"Not in modern times, true. But our Jean here has an interesting theory regarding your daughter's familiar." Old Osmond said.

"Oh really? Pray do tell." Karin said. Colbert took a deep breath. He knew that Karin would not take the news calmly. It would be better for him to mentally steel himself before another shouting match wither his eternal rival.

"Louise is a Void Mage and her familiar is the Gandalfr." Colbert stated.

There was a silence. Both Colbert and Osmond tentatively held their breaths.

"What?" Karin said in an incredulous tone. There was no edge in her tone, no coldness in her voice. Just plain disbelief.

"Louise is a Void Mage and her familiar is the Gandalfr." Old Osmond repeated, waiting for the hammer to fall.

"Both of you realize that I could execute you for heresy right here and now, correct?" Karin said, her tone still disbelieving.

"I am not supporting him, Karin. I am just repeating what he said!" Old Osmond said hastily.

"I have proof." Colbert said boldly. He took out a book from his cloak's large pocket and opened the particular page on which the illustration was drawn. He handed it to Karin, indicating at the place where she should squint. After plenty of time spent squinting, Karin looked up with a sigh.

"But Jean, this book is a collection of myths and fairy tales! Even if the runes match, the Papacy shall not accept it as legitimate proof for the Second Coming of the Gandalfr." She said in an exasperated tone.

"Exactly! Which is why we need you!" Old Osmond said.

"What?" This time, both Colbert and Karin said with disbelief in their tones.

"We need you to come up with a plan or some ideas." Old Osmond said.

"You summoned me over a distance of thirty leagues just to have my opinion?" Karin said in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes." Old Osmond said bluntly.

The resulting beating which the old man received at the hands of his former student was one that was a thousand times more painful than the ones Miss Longueville gave. It was a miracle that he survived by the end of it.

"But he does have a point you know. Among the three of us, only you are the one who is closest to the queen, who in turn, is the only person in all of Tristain who can meet the Pope." Colbert said.

"You forgot the Cardinal, Brimir bless his soul." Karin said sharply.

"Brimir bless his soul." Both Old Osmond and Colbert automatically and somewhat shamefacedly repeated.

"Yes, but that's not the point, isn't it? We don't want Louise to be tried as a heretic but neither do we want her to be expelled because of her apparent lack of magic. That is why we need you to gain audience with the Queen and consult her on this matter." Old Osmond said, recovering.

"Marianne is ill, Osmond! Albert's death really shook her up! How heartless can you be?" Karin said angrily.

"Albert died two years ago! She should recover by now! Look at me! I have gone through three wives and I am still fit as a rhyme dragon!" Old Osmond said.

"I pity all three of them." Colbert added.

"You just cannot tell someone to get better!" Karin said angrily.

"Both of you have a point." Colbert interjected. "Regardless of your thoughts, Osmond, an ill person is an ill person. You cannot force them to help you. But on the other hand, Karin, we need to solve this situation. If not Marianne, then consult Henrietta. Be sure to use the royal library. Anything will be of great help in our case."

All three square class mages looked at each other. Surprisingly, it was Karin who gave up first.

"Alright alright already! I will talk with Henrietta and maybe even Marianne. But I cannot promise you anything." She sighed.

"We don't expect much either." Colbert said a little sadly.

"But before that, give me a place to sleep. And before that, something to eat as well. It took Bedivere three hours of continuous flying to reach here. Both he and I are hungry." She said.

[Scene Change]

Once again, Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere dreamt of his familiar. Although compared to her previous dream, this one was quite different.

They were walking through a passage with a door at its end. Kirei, looking remarkably younger and having a much more guarded expression, pushed it open and went inside.

The first thing Louise noticed inside the room was the golden haired man on some sort of furniture that looked like the offspring of a bed and a chair, casually sipping wine from a goblet of glass. The second thing she noticed, judging from the amount of bottles on the floor, was that the man on the chair-bed had drunk quite enough. Yet he was showing no sign of inebriation. Was he a man or was he a monster?

"Archer?" Kirei said, looking completely surprised. Louise was surprised to see Kirei surprised. This was the man who had treated the rank between nobles and commoners as lightly as one would talk about the weather. Who smiled as sincerely as manticore grinned. Who talked eloquently enough to be a Bishop.

And he had shown his sincerest expression yet.

"You don't have as many bottles as Tokiomi has, but yours are better in quality." The blond man said in an observing tone as if measuring the worth of two worthless objects and seeing which one had a marginally greater worth. Despite sounding dogmatic and proud, the man did not irritate Louise as much as Kirei did.

Perhaps it was because the man exposed his true feelings unlike Kirei, who hid them? This aura of commanding came naturally to the man named Archer.

"What do you want?" Kirei asked as he walked over to the empty bottles and started storing them in the cup boards. Archer did not even deign to turn his head and face Kirei, simply staring at him from the corner of his eye. Yet the commanding force behind the eyes alone was enough to shock Louise. She felt that if Archer was to turn his complete attention to her, she would be paralyzed on the spot, completely unable to move. His presence was greater than her mother's.

Kirei was quite brave to be unflinchingly staring back at Archer.

That or he was just plainly stupid.

"It seems that I alone am not bored." Archer noted. Louise was quite confused. The man was casually sipping wine while lying on a chair-bed. Yet he was claiming to be bored. Louise knew that for many nobles, including her father, drinking wine was a hobby itself. Yet this man was saying that he was bored.

What would it take to satisfy him?

Apparently, Kirei was just as confused.

"Bored?"

"What's wrong Kirei? Are you also feeling unsatisfied in simply following your teacher's orders?" Archer said, the mildest tone of teasing in his voice which was completely missed by Louise. How dare such a man reference one's teacher? The bond between teacher and student was almost sacred in her eyes. To reference another teacher in such a manner was justifiable grounds for initiating a duel. Even if she wasn't the victim here, she felt that Kirei would also react accordingly.

Kirei, on the other hand, understood what Archer meant although his expression did not change at all.

"Are you still feeling unhappy with your contract with Tokiomi?" Kirei answered. The slightest curling of the lips told Kirei that the riposte was well done. Louise, on the other hand, felt aghast at Kirei's casual attitude towards his teacher.

"Tokiomi summoned me and supplies me with prana. I believe that does merit him the position of Master so I suppose I must follow his orders for a while. But," Archer said, casually revolving the wine in his goblet. He raised the liquid to his mouth.

"I must say that he is quite a boring man." Archer finished, after sipping the wine.

"You should not say things like that, Servant." Kirei said in a controlled voice. Louise was startled once more. The voice was controlled, the tone was controlled even the words were controlled. But because they were so controlled and did not sound like the way he usually spoke, Louise understood that Kirei had finally become angry. She couldn't say that she was feeling comfortable, even in her dreams. Here was an angry man who was as dangerous as any mage in her opinion. And yet on the other hand was another man who treated Kirei with blatant contempt, regarding him more like a toy than a man. What was even stranger, in Louise's opinion, was that the seemingly powerful blond was actually a servant.

But the flash of anger went as quickly as it came. Kirei's rigid body relaxed once again.

"Are they really that boring?" Kirei asked in a disinterested tone.

"Quite boring. To use such a powerful wish granting device to reach the Root? Extremely boring. And meaningless as well." Archer commented.

"The desire for the Root is not something to be understood by non mages." Kirei said somewhat defensively.

These words seemed to thunder through Louise's mind. Kirei was a commoner, wasn't he? The other man must be one as well. So why were they discussing magecraft as casually as if they were mages themselves? It was blasphemous, blasphemous! Magic was a right granted to Brimir by God himself. Only the bearer of his lineage had the right to wield it. Even speaking ill of nobles was borderline heresy because nobles, as mages, were bearers of God's blessing. Yet here were two commoners talking about mages as if mages were commoners themselves!

These rage filled clouds that fogged her mind were cleared away by a single question.

If Kirei's teacher was a mage, then didn't that mean Kirei was one as well?

"You are the one who usually opposes magi, correct?" Archer asked. Louise snapped out of her thoughts focused on the conversation between the two men.

"The path to the Root is something that is outside this world. Since the church concerns itself with the matters of within the world, the path to the Root is meaningless in their eyes." Kirei said as if reciting something.

"Oh I see. I also am only interested in things within this universe of mine which I rule." Archer said smugly before downing another sip and continuing. "I have no interest in things which I cannot rule." He added. Kirei simply smiled at Archer's statement as if he knew some great secret.

"Since this wish granting device is specialized to carve a path to the Root, it is not of interest to the Church. However, something so powerful can not only affect the outside of this world but what is inside as well. Since it can do that and we don't want it to, the Church chose to support Tokiomi, who is only interested in his quest for the Root. But I have a feeling that my father had other purpose for me since the beginning." Kirei explained.

"What you mean is that the other Masters have wishes different than that of reaching the Root?" Archer said, his eyebrow cocked. Kirei nodded. Louise was confused by all the talks of inside and outside the universe and was surprised at Archer for actually understanding at all.

"Tokiomi is an unexpectedly right winged mage of this era who only strives for the Root. The rest of the magi, on the other hand, pursue prestige, fame, wealth and other things of this sort, things which are within this world." Kirei said.

"Aren't they good enough? They are my favorite things as well." Archer said. His tone was not accusing but was curious.

"Well, you were the King of this world." Kirei said. Louise felt a chill run down her spine when she heard the way Kirei pronounce the word King. Not a king, the King. As if he literally was the King of the world. This statement confused her once more. What was Archer? A servant or a king? Archer simply chuckled and finished the wine in his goblet.

"What is your wish, Kirei?" Archer asked. The question had a strong impact on Kirei. Instead of anger or surprise however, Louise saw nervousness and shame. It was as if Kirei was feeling guilty of something.

"I…" Kirei said and paused.

"I don't have a wish." Kirei finished somewhat lamely. Archer actually deigned to turn his head a little. His irises narrowed in surprise and his gaze seemed to drill into Kirei.

"How is that possible? Don't only those magi with wishes in their hearts get selected as Masters?" Archer asked.

"It is supposed to be that way. Why had it chosen me? A man without any goals or dreams, a man like me does not qualify for this." Kirei said in a seemingly lost voice. Archer regained his composure and chuckled once again.

"If that is so, why not wish for pleasure?" He suggested. This triggered the loudest reaction from Kirei Louise had ever witnessed. Kirei actually shouted. Her ever calm familiar with the manticore's grin actually shouted.

"How dare you suggest something so sinful like that? I am a man of God! How can I seek pleasure? Something that will forever condemn me?" Kirei yelled. Louise silently congratulated Archer for not turning a hair during Kirei's tirade.

"Sin? Condemn?" Archer laughed. "Whatever do you mean by that, Kirei? How can pleasure be a sin?" He said. He then proceeded to actually sit up and pour himself another glass. "Pleasure, Kirei, is something whose nature cannot be defined but by the way it is obtained. If it is gained through sinful acts then no doubt, it is a sin. But what about the pleasure gained from good deeds?" Archer said. Kirei was struck speechless.

"I… I don't feel pleasure that is why I don't look for it." Kirei finally said.

Louise actually felt pity for Kirei. The hollow way in which he said and the defeated look that he sported were all signs that her familiar actually had tried seeking for joy but could not find it. Louise tried to imagine a world in which she could not feel happiness. She could only conjure wastelands in her mind, places where happiness would never sprout. How could Kirei have lived so long if he could not be happy at all? Perhaps that was why he always smiled so unconvincingly? Because he was doomed to never be able to feel pleasure.

"Kotomine Kirei," Archer said slowly while Louise was confused why Archer had uttered Kirei's name in reverse. "I have discovered a new interest in you."

Louise felt like smacking Archer. How could he merely dismiss a man's suffering as a source of amusment? Only a twisted individual would be able to do something like that, like a monster from a fairy tale who fed on people's pain and suffering. Kirei, on the other hand, merely lookd at Archer expectantly. Archer slowly sipped the wine in his goblet.

"Happiness, Kirei, is a form of the soul. As I said before, it is not actually divided into 'forbidden' and 'permissible' happiness, it is the means that determine that. If you have not yet found happiness, Kirei, then you must find it." Archer lectured.

"Oh? A mere Servant decides to lecture me?" Kirei dryly observed.

"It is no mere lecture, mongrel," Archer answered. "This is advice coming from someone who has tasted all the world has to offer. So make sure you listen well."

Kirei nodded and Archer continued.

"First of all, Kirei, you must learn about entertainment." Archer instructed. Kirei tilted his slightly in confusion.

"Entertainment?" He repeated in an inquiring tone.

"Indeed, Kirei, you must expand your mindset. Try joining me in my pursuit of pleasure, perhaps?" Archer offered.

"I don't have the time to join you." Kirei countered.

"But you will have in between the work Tokiomi assigns you, correct? You work is to send your spies after the other Masters, isn't it?" Archer asked. Kirei simply nodded in response. "In that case, don't simply learn about their strategies and tactics. Learn about their motivations as well." Archer said.

"And why would you want to know such things?" Kirei asked.

"Because as I mentioned before, I am interested in people. And among the Masters, they are bound to be some who are more interesting than Tokiomi." Archer said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Kirei remained silent for some time.

"Alright, Archer, but it will take some time." He finally agreed. Archer nodded.

"Time is something that I have." He said. He finished the rest of the wine and regarded the goblet in his hand with some amusement before setting it down.

"I will come back to taste some of your wine again, Kirei. Yours is the collection that is the closest to mine in taste." Archer complemented Kirei. And then, to Louise's everlasting astonishment, turned into golden dust and disappeared. Kirei merely returned to putting the empty wine bottles back in his cup board before sitting on one of the chair beds.

"Pleasure." Kirei repeated, as if trying to savor the word.

[Scene Change]

Kireis mistress woke up with a gasp, once again covered in sweat and panting as if she had run a league. Perhaps she had some sleeping disorder of some sort?

"Is something the matter, mistress?" He pleasantly asked. The tone would have normally irked her but for some reason, she did not retaliate violently as Rin would.

"Kirei, answer me truthfully." She asked solemnly. Noting her mistress's expression, Kirei's small smile turned into a slight frown.

"Alright, mistress." Kirei conceded. He did not what she would ask but one thing was certain. Whether she asked about a well kept secret or a commonly known fact, Kirei would answer truthfully.

"Are you a mage?" She asked. Kirei felt surprised but he did not let the expression show on her face. However she had garnered the information was something he would ask later.

"Not in the strictest sense but I am able to perform magecraft to some extent." Kirei answered. He felt a smile tug at his lips at the sight of Louise's thunderstruck expression.

"Now mistress, in accordance to the law of equivalent exchange, I would like to ask you a question as well." He said.

"Ask." Louise said in a small voice.

"Who is that woman behind you?"

"What?" Louise said in a surprised voice. She turned around slowly. And then with a startled yelp backed away.

"Good day, Louise. I hope you are feeling well?" The pink haired woman standing in the center of the room smiled thinly.

"M-mother!" Louise squeaked timidly.

By the look of his mistress's face, Kirei deduced that Louise was not feeling well at all.

_**I better get more reviews on this chapter. It is longer than the other and took less time than the others as well! The narrator even remained quiet most of the time! Give me seventy on this!**_

_**Please? I wrote a lot you know.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six: In which the narrator gets carried away and hides a stealth pun in the text**_

The room in Kirei's mind was the same room he had during his time as the Master of Assassin in the Fourth Holy Grail War. The same desk, the same cupboard, the same bed in the corner, the same sofa in which Gilgamesh lay, laughing his head off. If Kirei would have been a normal human and someone who didn't know Gilgamesh's unique set of morals, he would have been petrified. As it was, he merely sighed and went to sit behind the desk. The dream he was experiencing seemed more complete, perhaps because he was in a familiar setting.

"Kirei, when I commanded you to create a play, I did not ask for a comedy! Well, it did unexpectedly turn out to be a well made comedy so I will not punish you but nonetheless, comedy is the lowest form of entertainment. You, of all people, should know that!" Gilgamesh said, his eyes still laughing. Kirei's expression remained blank.

"I never aimed to create a comedy. I aimed to do what I did best. If the actors themselves diverge from the script, why must the playwright be blamed? He is not allowed to come on the stage to correct the actors, it is the actors themselves who should remain true to the story." Kirei said.

"Wrong once again, Kirei. While it is true that the playwright must not approach the stage himself, he is equally responsible for the actors as well." Gilgamesh said. Kirei raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? This is new to me. Please do elaborate." Kirei said in a mocking tone which Gilgamesh completely ignored.

"The playwright, Kirei," Gilgamesh said. "Is the one who knows the play best, despite what others might claim. Like a mother knows its child, the playwright knows its creation. So he is the ideal person to give advice to the actors on their roles. The director knows the audience so he tailors the play for the audience. But a great play need not be a popular one. The audience are but the mindless droves who watch the play for entertainment. A true connoisseur, Kirei, sees the art not the entertainment. That is why tragedy is better than comedy, because tragedy has meaningful art about life while comedy is meaningless laughter on trivial matters."

Kirei simply blinked.

"You forget one thing, Gilgamesh." Kirei said unapologetically. Gilgamesh regarded him with his red eyes, daring him to continue. If Kirei had not known that the Gilgamesh in front of him was merely a facet of his mind, he would have remained silent. Knowing that he was safe, he continued.

"The play itself was a tragedy. The play itself, however, decided to keep writing itself. The young man, Guiche, got stuck in a precarious position because he had courted the daughter of a rival family, a matter about which I had no knowledge. If he had seduced someone else, the play would have remained a tragedy but since it was his own folly that kept getting him in trouble, he simply turned into a laughingstock because of it." Kirei explained. Gilgamesh stared at the priest for some time.

"You completely missed the point once more, Kirei. That is not what makes this comedy a comedy." Gilgamesh said, his tone a little irritated as if Kirei was a fool for not seeing something that was plainly in sight. Kirei felt surprise. He was surprised that once part of his mind could see something that he himself couldn't. Gilgamesh's red eyes remained fixed on him.

"Still confused? Well, since you are a writer of tragedy and not of comedy that is to be expected. The mongrel's situation is not the reason this play has turned into a comedy. True, seeing him getting kicked around for the dog he is does constitute as comedy but it is very droll, to be exact. Still, it is comedy because he is getting more than what he deserves. If he had been a relatively cleaner mongrel than his peers, then perhaps the scenario would have been more tragic and thus more enjoyable." Gilgamesh explained.

"No, what amuses me is that the playwright himself is forgetting his role." Gilgamesh said and this timed turned his head and gazed at Kirei, his expression still slightly amused.

"How am I forgetting my role? I have just started creating my work." Kirei demanded.

"The playwright knows the play and the actors. The audience itself should be secondary. You, Kirei, are acting like a director. You appeal to the audience itself which is to say, you." Gilgamesh explained.

"Me?" Kirei said in a surprised voice.

"Yes, Kirei, you. You are so eager for entertainment that you are willing to indulge in cheap drama. Draw out the situation a little bit. Learn about the actors. Just aimlessly troubling the mongrels would only bring you cheap satisfaction and a quick death. Prepare a truly grand piece of art and then execute it anonymously yet perfectly. The satisfaction you shall feel will be worth the wait and it will be long lasting as well." Gilgamesh said. Kirei felt mildly irritated since he knew all of this. He had just forgotten about subtlety and quality. That was not a reason for him to annoy himself, wasn't it?. Before Kirei could continue pondering on his self-advice, he felt a boot prod into his side.

The priest leapt up and assumed one of the basic offensive Bajiquan stances he had learnt from his late mentor, Tohsaka Tokiomi. There was only one other person awake in the room who was pointing her sword at him. Kirei noticed that she left no immediate opening in her stance. She was well versed in swords fighting, it seemed. Kirei might be able to forcibly create an opening in her stance if the fight would take place in open air but in a closed room, it was she who had the advantage.

Both combatants inspected each other, seemingly at a stalemate. Kirei's opponent had long pink hair, matching irises and a stern expression. She was wearing plate armor, he noticed, although it only consisted of a simple breast plate, gauntlets and leg guards. Draped over her left arm was a white cape emblazoned with some sort of coat of arms consisting of a winged lion.

Through an unvoiced agreement, both lowered their guard after staring motionlessly for ten minutes. Kirei dropped his stance while his opponent sheathed her sword. Both had understood one thing.

The other person was dangerous, too dangerous to fight in a restrictive area. It would be better to stand down than to risk anything.

Before either opponent could open their mouth, Louise woke up.

"Is something the matter, mistress?" Kirei pleasantly asked. The tone would have normally irked her but for some reason, she did not retaliate violently as Rin would. Kirei found this behavior odd.

"Kirei, answer me truthfully." She asked solemnly. Noting her mistress's expression, Kirei's small smile turned into a slight frown.

"Alright, mistress." Kirei conceded. He did not what she would ask but one thing was certain. Whether she asked about a well kept secret or a commonly known fact, Kirei would answer truthfully because that was something he always did.

"Are you a mage?" She asked. Kirei felt surprised but he did not let the expression show on her face. How she had gotten the information was something he would ask later.

"Not in the strictest sense but I am able to perform magecraft to some extent." Kirei answered. He felt a smile tug at his lips at the sight of Louise's thunderstruck expression.

"Now mistress, in accordance to the law of equivalent exchange, I would like to ask you a question as well." He said.

"Ask." Louise said in a small voice. Perhaps she was still awestruck at Kirei's newfound status as a mage.

"Who is that woman behind you?" Kirei asked, tilting his head towards the older pinkette.

"What?" Louise said in a surprised voice. She turned around slowly. And then with a startled yelp backed away.

"Good day, Louise. I hope you are feeling well?" The pink haired woman standing in the center of the room smiled thinly.

"M-mother!" Louise squeaked timidly.

By the look of his mistress's face, Kirei deduced that Louise was not feeling well at all.

"I am sorry that I am not in decent clothes. I am sorry I did not wake up on time. I am sorry I did not come to receive you." Louise said frantically. Karin's expression turned from hostile to bemused.

"All of these are excusable, Louise. You witnessed something horrific this night. You are bound to sleep late because of the images haunting your mind. As for not receiving me, that is also pardonable. I came at night, just after all the students had been sent to your room. I did not wish to wake you from your respite." The elder Valliere answered. Her firm tone and sharp voice, however, made the whole lecture sound incriminating instead of liberating. Louise shrank into a smaller ball.

"Are you," She asked quietly. "Angry at me?"

The elder Valliere looked scandalized.

"Angry, Louise? Why would I be angry?" The older woman asked in an aggravated tone.

"I did not act with proper decorum. Instead of acting like a proper Valliere, I acted like a little girl. Instead of taking charge, I merely let the situation play itself out." Louise said timidly. She shivered slightly. Kirei guessed that she was waiting for her mother to harshly reprimand her, to remind her to act properly.

Karin did not move from where she was standing. She just remained still as a stone, gazing at her daughter emptily. Both mother and daughter were at a loss for words since they knew what they felt could not be expressed just through speaking.

Kirei, on the other hand, had plenty to say. He only remained silent because the Gilgamesh of his mind had told him to not trouble others needlessly and to design a truly grand plan. Grudgingly, Kirei had decided to accept his own advice, no matter how dangerous it usually was.

"Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere, you have not let me down. You have acted in the situation as a Valliere. That is all I can say." Karin said, her tone firm. Louise looked up, surprised at the response. Kirei saw relief and even more, happiness threatening to well out of Louise's eyes. Before Kirei could even react, Karin faced him.

"So, this is your familiar." Karin said, her tone suddenly turning distasteful. Louise hopeful countenance turned depressed. Karin sniffed and placed a finger on her lip. "It doesn't look anything special."

Kirei immediately detected the lie. Karin had been certainly impressed with his reaction time which was she was deliberately trying to provoke him. Her act of placing her hand on her mouth gave away her dishonesty. And since she was the mother of Louise, whose personality matched Rin's, she proved easy to read. She would vehemently deny any sort of weakness or vulnerability. Nonetheless, Kirei only uttered one word.

"It?"

"What? Do you have a problem, familiar?" Karin asked in a threatening manner.

"If by problem, you mean the fact that you have completely thrown my gender out of the window, then no." Kirei answered. Karin was confused.

"But I would like to say that even if I don't look special, that doesn't mean that I am not." Kirei finished, leaving Karin even more confused. Kirei sighed.

"I mean to say that I am not ordinary." He explained. Karin's mystified expression cleared.

"Well, you just told Louise that you are a mage. Can you prove it?" Karin said.

"Unfortunately, my magecraft is not as spectacular as yours and is strictly battle oriented." Kirei said in a disinterested tone.

"Good. I will wait for you in the Vestri Court. I shall determine whether you are worthy of being my daughter's familiar or not." Karin said.

"I refuse." Kirei said before facing Louise. "I'll ask the kitchen staff to send your breakfast to your room." The priest was about to leave the room when Karin swiftly placed herself between Kirei and the door. Before Kirei could side step her, she had drawn her sword and was pointing it at Kirei.

"And why would you refuse?" Karin said coldly.

"Because I feel like it. All of us humans were born with equal amounts of free will. I choose to exercise my right in order to spite you." Kirei answered.

"I refuse to allow you to leave through this door." Karin said, her temper rising. Kirei frowned. Why was this woman obsessed with fighting him? She seemed to be a direct contrast to all those nobles who wouldn't pay attention to other commoners. Was it because he had said that he was a mage of sorts? Sighing, he came to a conclusion.

"Alright, I won't leave through this door." Kirei said and the promptly ran over to the window and jumped through it.

The stunned silence that followed could have been cut with a spoon. But only if the spoon's edge had been especially sharpened to a supernatural degree by a cosmic whetstone or some grinding machine of fate to be able to cut something as abstract as silence.

The narrator would like to note that the above paragraph makes no sense.

* * *

"Hmm, what is it this time, Motsognir?" Old Osmond whispered in a conspiratorial tone to his field mouse. "Is it the color of Miss Longueville's panties?" He said in a giggling voice.

The mouse shook his head. Old Osmond immediately stopped giggling and sat up straight. Old Osmon trusted only four people completely, with Motsognir being the first and foremost.

Unlike some unfortunate mages who's familiar died due to some accident or conflict, Osmond's familiar had survived all those years. The biggest reason for this was that Motsognir, being a field mouse, could hide in Osmond's clothes if he felt threatened. He was also a familiar that many people overlooked simply because he was so small. Also, even if someone tried to attack him, his tiny stature once again made him a hard target to hit.

Which was why Motsognir had been Osmond's familiar for all those years had climbed the ranks from familiar to trusted advisor. Being a familiar, Motsognir happened to be much smarter than the average field mouse. Now that he was so old and wise, Osmond estimated him to be as intelligent as a mature rhyme dragon.

So if Motsognir wanted to tell him something about Miss Longueville that was not related to the color of her underwear, then that meant that it was an extremely serious matter.

"Well, out with it, Motsognir." Osmond commanded. Motsognir squeaked back.

"Miss Longueville is reading a weekly gazette? What is so strange about that? Yes, well it does puzzle me how she managed to get the money to buy one but that is besides the point! Some kind man must have given her the money to buy one. Wait, a kind man is giving her money to buy things!" Old Osmond said and then promptly panicked.

"MISS LONGUEVILLE!" Old Osmond roared, causing the secretary to drop the gazette in fright.

"Y-yes, Headmaster?" Miss Longueville said in a terrified tone.

"HOW COULD YOU!" Old Osmond screamed.

"How could I what?" The green aired woman said in a confused voice.

"Relations like that are not condoned by this institution! And not only that, are you so cheap to allow yourself to be bought for just a weekly gazette?" Old Osmond accused. Miss Longueville was now more perplexed than frightened.

"Bought?" She repeated.

"You heard me! Bought! For a weekly gazette no less! Whichever crackpot came up with the idea of using the printing press to make a weekly leaflet of news and gossip was clearly wrong! That bundle of lies which people insist on calling a gazette is nothing more than a method to harass honest people with blatant misinformation! Printing presses should only be used to print the Good Book, nothing else. To use it in such a shameless manner, it's evil, I tell you!" Old Osmond said, now completely looking like a lunatic.

"What in the name of Brimir's Blood are you talking about, Headmaster?" The secretary said in an exasperated voice.

"Why, I am talking about the man you are serving, of course! Acting like a mistress to a man, shameless I tell you! And all because you want to read something like a gazette! They may be expensive but that does not mean I will buy you one if you insist! To go that far for something like this, shameless I tell you!" Old Osmond lectured. Whatever he wanted to say next was lost when Miss Longueville took it on herself to beat some sense into Old Osmond.

"Now," Miss Longueville said in a calmer tone. "First of all, this particular gazette, The Observer, is not a bundle of lies as you claim. It is one of the cleaner ones. Second, these gazettes are not expensive at all. They only cost five bronze. Start living in the past. Third, why did you immediately assume that I was having an affair? Over a gazette too! Headmaster, if I were to play the part of a mistress, I would demand an estate, a chateau, a servant body of at least thirty and a stipend of ten thousand gold. And this is the minimum margin that I am willing to draw."

Old Osmond rubbed his head thoughtfully. "I don't think that even a Germanian Prince would keep you as a mistress in that case." He pondered. Surprisingly, no beating ensued. Miss Longueville only smiled thinly and picked up her gazette.

"Why are you so concerned with that gazette anyways? Women shouldn't concern their pretty little heads with politics . It diminishes their beauty." Old Osmond said peevishly.

"I wonder how Karin would react to that statement." Miss Longueville said in a distracted tone as she continued reading the Observer.

"None at all. She seems like a proper woman who would charge into politics but in reality, all those years in the battle field have left her uninterested in many things save for fighting." Old Osmond sighed, getting up. "If you wanted to give me an example, you should have referenced Princess Henrietta." He said as he seated himself. Miss Longueville didn't reply.

"What are you reading anyways? What could be possibly be so interesting?" Old Osmond said after several minutes of silence.

"There have been several break ins in the blacksmith and weaponry shops. But what is even more worrying is that a fire mage was killed with a strange musket." Miss Longueville said in a morose tone. "Don't worry, he was a commoner dot class mage. It seems that he had been disinherited so he was nobody important." Noting Old Osmond's thunderstruck expression she hastily added.

Old Osmond was stupefied. A commoner had as much chance against a mage as a mage had against an enough. Even a dot class mage could take down a large body of commoners by himself. Mages of any element were able to deflect musket shots, even if purely by instinct.

So how had the mage been killed? Was the musket itself magical to a degree? And why was the thief pilfering weapon shops?

"Is that why you are so concerned?" Old Osmond asked.

"Well yes. This thief maybe Fouquet." Miss Longueville said. Old Osmond started snorting with laughter.

"I assure you, Miss Longueville, that no mage would degrade himself to use conventional weaponry, when he has magic at his disposal!" Old Osmond declared.

"You'd never know." Miss Longueville said vaguely as she turned a page. Old Osmond harrumphed and stepped into the balcony, making sure to lock the windows behind him. He put a hand into his pocket and brought out Motsognir who had been patiently waiting all that time.

"Well? Did you find what we were looking for?" Old Osmond asked. The field mouse shook his head in negative. Old Osmond sighed.

"Nothing to prove that she is Fouquet?" He repeated. Motsognir shook his head in negative once more.

"And I raised all that fuss for nothing. Oh well, perhaps we will have to wait and see, eh partner?" Old Osmond said in a conversational tone. Motsognir gave a rodent shrug.

"After all, even if I am outdone by Karin in terms of Wind Magic, I can at least out do her in terms of patience." He muttered as he unlocked the windows.

* * *

Guiche had been let out of his room at morning. Since today was Void Day, there were to be no classes or lectures. It was religious holiday observed by the Founder Brimir himself.

Besides, he doubted that there would be classes after Katie's suicide.

The shock of her death had not worn off the boy completely. The earth mage simply wandered around the Vestri Court aimlessly with a glazed look in his eyes. Several groups of students were walking in the Court as well, whispering among themselves. They tended to steer clear of Guiche, as if he was some sort of pariah. Not that he cared. The blond was still feeling slightly dazed over Katie's death.

He simply couldn't accept her passing.

Guiche finally sat down in the shade of large tree, tired after walking around in the Vestri Court. Several minutes passed peacefully.

Until the familiar of Zero suddenly came and sat beside the exact tree.

"What?" Guiche snapped. His temper flared up, remembering all the humiliation he had experienced. The brown haired familiar languidly looked back at the blond boy.

"What is it?" The familiar replied.

"Don't play the part of the fool! I know you have come here to humiliate me! Out with it! Why are you here?" Guiche snarled as he stood up. The familiar remained sitting.

"I find it extremely hard to humiliate someone who already has made a fool out of himself in front of everyone in public." The familiar sated. Guiche gritted his teeth. Only the thought of Louise's mother, Karin the Heavy Wind, kept him from attacking the insolent familiar sitting in front of him.

"It was only a misunderstanding." Guiche said, taking a defensive tone.

"Misunderstandings do not often end up in deaths. Women happen to be very sentimental in manners like this. The bond between lovers is sacred in their perspective." Te familiar said ina patronizing tone.

"As if a knave like you would know." Guiche said in a scoffing tone.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I have seen many women in emotional distress. All that it takes to push such a woman in the wrong direction is the correct choice of words." The familiar said. And for the first time, he smiled.

The world seemed to stop as the familiar's words sank in. Guiche's anger evaporated, the sheer magnitude of the statement seemingly blowing him back. For a moment, Guiche saw everything with a razor sharp clarity. The smile on the familiar's lips, the texture of the tree's bark, the expressions of a few nearby curious students, the leaf falling from the tree, the ray of sunlight filtering through the branches. The thickness of the air suddenly became denser.

And then he exploded.

"Murderer!" Guiche de Gramont screamed with righteous fury. He waved his rose wand. Six petals fell on the ground. With a flash, six halberd golems appeared and charged at the familiar. The familiar leapt to his feet and retreated just in time. The golem's weapons skewered the tree trunk.

"Murderer!" Guiche screamed once more, this time summoning ten more golems. The familiar retreated several paces as the golems ran at him, weapons held ready.

The startled yells of the accompanying students, his own rage and the blood rushing into his head made Guiche's sight slightly hazy. Things seemed to go slower than normal as if in a dream.

Which was why when the familiar suddenly shattered a golem with his fist, Guiche had a hard time believing in what he had seen.

Two others were dispatched with a spinning kick. The two behind him were similarly destroyed. One came close enough to thrust its weapon. The familiar casually side stepped the attack, grabbed the golem's arm and picked it up. Then he proceeded to beat the rest of the golems to pieces with it. Discarding the battered lump of metal in his hands, the familiar faced Guiche. All ten golems had been destroyed without the familiar even resorting to use a weapon.

Only to face thirty golems bearing various weapons, ready to charge. Guiche shook himself. "Charge!" He bellowed and his creations obeyed.

Only for the majority of them to be ripped apart by the familiar with terrifying ease.

The last golem hurled its spear. Once again, the familiar dodged with minimum movement.

Only for him to realize that the weapon was headed towards Louise. Somehow, she had appeared on the Vestri Court and was standing in the path of the spear.

The familiar made a desperate attempt to grasp the weapon in mid flight, but it was too late. The spear flew and Louise's death seemed imminent.

Guiche heard the wind whistle and suddenly, the whole world seemed to turn over. His head the ground ad he felt dazed. As he struggled to rise up, he felt a gigantic paw pin him down. He looked up blearily to see a manticore grin back at him, its yellow fangs bared. Guiche, having still not recovered from anger, struggled once more.

"It will be in your interest, Gramont, for you to remain lying. Bedivere does not attack unless I command him to but if you dare to struggle any longer, I will allow him to clout you with his paw." A cold and stern voice spoke. Guiche realized that it was the Heavy Wind that was speaking to him.

"Kirei," the Heavy Wind continued. Guiche felt mildly confused on who this 'Kirei' was. "You were unable to protect my daughter." She chastised.

"I was busy protecting myself, I did not know Louise was here, I tried my best to catch the spear in mid air and in the end, you managed to blow it away. So all in all, no harm was done." The familiar answered.

"I will expect you to do a better job in protecting my daughter next time." The Heavy Wind said.

"Whatever you say, Mrs. Valliere." Kirei answered. The Heavy Wind dismounted her familiar. "Let him up, Bedivere." She commanded. The fearsome manticore complied and removed his paw. The Heavy Wind reached down and hoisted the boy up by grabbing his lapels. And then kept him suspended in the air. Guiche subconsciously marveled at strength in her arms.

"Explain, Gramont." The Heavy Wind snapped.

"He killed Katie! He admitted it! He killed Katie!" Guiche screamed himself hoarse.

And then was shut up when Karin back handed him viciously. His lower lip split and a trickle of blood made its way down to his chin.

"Boy," Karin snarled. "You have acted in a manner that disgraces your family, you have attacked my daughter and you have attacked my daughter's familiar. I am not in a mood to condone any further disgraceful actions. Understand?" Guiche nodded, terrified. "Now, explain to me clearly. How do you know that Kirei killed Katie?"

"He admitted it in front of me." Guiche said. The Heavy Wind faced Kirei.

"I never said that." He shrugged.

"You are lying!" Guiche yelled.

"I never lie. I will tell the truth even if it is not in my interest." Kirei answered.

"Then answer this. Is he telling the truth?" The Heavy Wind said.

"No." Kirei answered immediately.

"Did you kill Katie?" The Heavy Wind asked.

"As far as I know, she committed suicide with a pair of scissors. If I would have needed to kill her, I would have crushed her face." Kirei said in a disinterested tone. The surrounding students, who had gathered in to listen to the conversation, made choking noises.

"Did you have to say that?" Louise demanded. Kirei looked down at her.

"Yes, because it shows that I don't need to weapons to kill mages." Kirei said. Guiche choked as the Heavy Wind's grip unconsciously tightened. The moment of tension was interrupted quite suddenly by none other than Colbert.

"KARIN! UNHAND MY STUDENT IMMEDIATELY!" The bald man roared, striding towards the middle of the confrontation.

"Jean, you are being unreasonable." Karin said coldly.

"Says the one strangling the boy!" Colbert retorted. Karin promptly let go off Guiche who fell and crumpled into a heap.

"There. Are you satisfied now?" Karin said.

"No, I am not! Karin, this is the Tristainian Academy of Magic, not the Manticore Knight Corps! We do not use corporal punishment on our students!" Colbert said, stressing on the word 'student'.

The narrator would like to note that you would not like Colbert when he is angry.

"Before being students, they are nobles. And each noble has the responsibility to act like one. Gramont here," Karin said, saying as if he was disgusting specimen. "Did not act like one at all. He attacked my daughter's familiar, endangered all those around him and nearly injured my daughter. This constitutes as a plea for his disownment to General Gramont." Karin said.

"No. Anything but that." Guiche croaked from beneath. Karin ignored him.

"Karin," Colbert said, a hint of desperation entering his tone. "It was just a burst of anger. Surely you cannot hold that against him."

Karin looked at him and Colbert felt like stepping back. The full fury of the woman who had only known battle yet loved her children in her twisted way glared at him, making him feel small and pathetic.

"Ask your own victims." She said clearly. Colbert felt numb at that statement. She had openly exposed the secret of the Flame Snake in front of his students, a secret he had been keeping under wraps for all those years. For her to resort to this level, he had perhaps greatly insulted her honor. Colbert was a military mage but he was not a knight. Thus he sometimes found the wrath of knights puzzling. But even he knew when to draw the line on his words.

But here he was well and truly stumped. Surely, Karin could not hold a grudge against Guiche, couldn't she? Didn't she see that by her anger, she would give birth to a cycle of revenge that might even end in deaths? Even now, she had spiritually killed Guiche de Gramont. Disownment of a noble was equal to killing him. Seldom had any of them survived the harsh life of reality. Colbert was well aware what happened to them. One had even died this week, a disowned dot class fire mage. Killed by some disgruntled commoner out of spite with a musket perhaps.

And yet he was powerless. He sighed.

"Someone please escort Guiche to his room." He said and strode away.

It was Montmorency of all people who helped Guiche to his feet. It was Montmonercy who escorted the poor boy to his room. It was Montmorency who stayed with him.

"Oh Brimir." Was all Guiche could say before he placed his head in his fiancé's lap and let the tears flow freely.

In the narrator's opinion, Guiche is suffering from a blatant case of Deus Angst Machina.

* * *

The streets of Cittadella were empty at this time of the night but Julio still felt uneasy. He and the Pope had travelled all the way from Romalia to this Brimir-forsaken port city for some vague business that the Pope needed to attend. Why in this city, especially such a dangerous one? It was reputed to be teeming with pagans and heretics. Julio was sure that the slightest sound would wake the entire street up and every piece of filth would jump out of their hovel, screaming like a mad man.

"Julio, you look too serious." The Pope said in a light hearted tone.

"Your Holiness, we are currently walking through a city reputed to be the den of thieves and black guards. I find it hard not to be serious." Julio answered sharply.

"Certainly, we are treading dangerous ground. But that is no reason for us to be so stiff and terrified." The Pope said.

"Your Holiness, I respectfully disagree. That is a perfect reason for us to be terrified. Perhaps if I was the Gandalfr, I would be fearless but I am not. I am simply the Windalfr. If the scum of this street decided to come attack us, I might not be able to fight off all of them." Julio said. The Pope nodded thoughtfully.

"That is, of course, assuming that they wake at all. A man values a good night's sleep after all." The Pope said. Julio blinked. He had never though t of that. Nonetheless, he did not drop his guard and continued to look here and there cautiously, just in case someone woke up and was fool hardy enough to attack.

The Pope calmly walked over to the door of a hovel and knocked. Julio looked, terror stricken at what the Pope had done. Any moment now, the commoner inside would open the door and attempt to kill his Holiness out of spite.

There was the sound of shuffling. The door open just a crack and faint beam of light came out from inside. The light came from a lantern and it showed its holder. Julio stepped back in surprise. The man was truly hideous. He looked like those inbred oafs from the villages.

"Good evening, Pedro." The Pope said pleasantly.

"Night, more like it. Come in, pretty boy." The oaf grunted and held the door wide open.

"How dare you-" Julio began but was cut off by the Pope holding a finger to his lips, indicating a need to be quiet. The Windalfr mentally cursed himself, remembering where they were.

Inside the hovel, an extremely pungent and disgusting stench of livestock greeted them. There was a single ram standing in the middle of the room, chewing something without a concern in the world. Julio felt as if the smell was trying to claw his way up his nostrils. Even the Pope's serene face was slightly twisted as he scrunched up his face. Only the inbred Pedro seemed unconcerned.

"How were your travels, Pedro?" The Pope said.

"Not very interesting. Estella and I managed to go as far as Lagdorian Lake. At least, I think it was the Lagdorian Lake. I can't remember it being so large." Pedro rumbled.

"Pedro is a nomad. He comes to Port Cittadella for two weeks twice a year." The Pope said, noticing Julio's confusion.

Pedro shuffled around and finally produced a long and rusty knife. He sharpened it with a whetstone and the inspected it by running a thumb across its length. Drawing a bead of blood, he grunted in a satisfied tone. He held up the ram's head, exposing the throat and then, to Julio's disgust, plunged it in tip-first. The ram made a wheezing noise, probably unable to make a proper sound because of the loss of its larynx. Pedro slid the knife from the ram's throat to its colon. Pulling out the knife, he pulled the still alive ram's skin so that its cut underbelly opened wide. A steaming mass of internal organs slid out and sloppily hit the floor. The ram twitched for several moments before finally dying.

"Your holiness," Julio said in an extremely tense voice. "What is this?"

"This is a dead ram, Julio." The Pope answered.

"I mean, why have we witnessed Pedro killing a ram? Especially in such a vile manner?" Julio asked.

"That is because Pedro is an extremely learned haruspex and we are about to witness him perform a ritual of hepatomancy." The Pope replied evenly.

Hepatomancy, the pagan art of reading a ritually slaughtered animal's entrails as a form of divination of the future. Hepatomancy was one of the five pagan practices that St. Jacob of Navarre had warned against, with the other four being the worship of false gods, the creation of temples associated with such false gods, human sacrifice and sexual intercourse as a religious ritual.

"Your Holiness," Julio said in an extremely cold voice. "What are you doing?" The Pope looked at his familiar with sad eyes and a small smile.

"You have arrived as my familiar, Julio. This can only mean that the Promised Time has come. I need to make sure that I have an idea on what will happen in the future. Do not worry, Pedro's prediction are quite accurate. I have consulted him before." The Pope said sadly. The cold look of fury in the Windalfr's eye, however, did not abate.

"By compromising your integrity?" He asked angrily.

"Religious?" The Pope said and for a moment, Julio could have sworn that he had heard a hint of scorn in his voice. "Julio, do you know that I was selected as the Pope not as a religious figure but simply as the Bearer of the Void. Those men back at Romalia use me as a figure to boost their own power. The desire to awaken the Will of the Founder has long been lost. If they can clearly do the most outrageous things and still not be found guilty, I have the right to do so as well." He said.

For the longest moment, Julio felt the overwhelming need to punch the Pope. All his life, he had served the Church, both as a knight and as a priest, only to end up with him? This Pope? Julio had not been particularly fond of his Master before but now he felt hate creep into his mind.

"Integrity does not mean to do good in front of others. It means to do good even when no one is looking." Julio said.

"Spare me the over used lines, Julio. They do not befit a fine specimen like you." The Pope said. Julio once again felt the need to slap his Master but he fought the urge down once more. He was no mage while the Pope was the Bearer of the Void. Furthermore, an unknown power prevented him from having harmful thoughts against the Pope.

"Well, pretty boy. It seems that you are out of luck." Pedro said. He had spent the entire time examining the guts of the slaughtered ram, not paying attention to the discussion between the two men besides him.

"There was no sign?" The Pope said in a worried tone.

"More like the message was so damn confusing that the gods must be crazy to send one like this." Pedro grunted. He brought out a bucket of water, intending to clean the blood in the room.

"Wait! Even a message like that would suffice! What is it, pray do tell!" The Pope said urgently. Pedro looked at him before setting the bucket down.

"The sign tell that there are three great powers currently in the world. But the powers that are with them are four in number. Two of them are in Tristain, One is in Albion and one is in Romalia. Furthermore, the one in Albion is the same as the one in Tristain yet they are different. Also, the two lesser powers in Tristain are actually far greater than one can imagine them to be." Pedro said, speaking as if reciting. Julio, to his astonishment, found the Pope swiftly writing all that down on paper with a stick of charcoal.

"Thank you, Pedro." The Pope politely said, handing him a pouch. Pedro grunted as he took the money with his gnarled fingers. The Pope and his familiar stepped out of the hovel. A splash of water was heard. Pedro had apparently started cleaning the floor. Thunder rumbled in the distance and a few droplets fell. The two men ignored both sounds, swiftly walking back the way they came from.

"Your Holiness-" Julio attempted to speak.

"Not now, Julio. I am tired from walking all the way down here. Let us just find the nearest tavern, get some food in our bellies, charter a carriage or perhaps ride a stagecoach back to Romalia. We will discuss my heresy there." The Pope said in a tired tone.

The rest of the journey back lapsed in silence.

_**Better get a lot of reviews for this chapter, the narrator said. It was supposed to be a better and longer one, the reader said.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven: In which the narrator coins a new word which many may already know**_

Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere felt absolutely helpless. After Kirei had jumped out of her bedroom's window unannounced, she had promptly raced down to the grounds to search for him. Her mother, on the other hand, had literally followed Kirei, jumping out of the window and landing on Bedivere's back. She had arrived behind Kirei, panting terribly. Why did she have to run like this? She raised her head to scold Kirei…

…And nearly got spiked in through the head with a spear flung by a bronze golem. Kirei made a desperate attempt to intercept it in midair but failed. Louise watched the flying weapon, transfixed. Death was so near yet she couldn't even shut her eyes.

There was a blast of wind and the spear was blown away. Louise adjusted her gaze to see her mother, sitting on Bedivere, pointing her wand in her direction. Louise felt her knees go weak but she refused to sit down in relief. Before she could even force out the words of gratitude for her mother, she descended from her familiar and easily hefted up Guiche with one hand. Louise kept forgetting that her mother was both physically as well as magically strong.

She watched as Karin curtly cut short Colbert's pleas and swiftly mount Bedivere.

"Louise, I am leaving to gain audience with Henrietta. Stay strong while I am absent." She said. Then she looked at Kirei with a sharp gaze. "Keep my daughter safe. I will test you when I will come back." She said and then took off.

It was noon currently. Louise had finished her luncheon and was idly lying on her bed. A thousand question danced in her mind but after seeing how powerful Kirei was without weapons, she was afraid that he might snap her neck simply for asking.

"What is the matter mistress?" Kirei said after a few minutes of silence.

"Nothing." Louise said a little too quickly. Kirei sighed mildly, which was as close to a sign of frustration as one could get from him.

"You have been rolling around in your bed and keep stealing glances at me. There is something on your mind regarding me and I wish to answer your questions or else you might end up with misunderstandings." Kirei said. Louise frowned.

"You are going to use your equivalent exchange law to make me get you something right?" Louise suspiciously asked, not even bothering to construct her sentence properly.

"Yes. I will ask questions in answer to your questions." Kirei confirmed. Louise thought for a moment. Kirei was annoying, dangerous, monotonous and if her dreams were to be believed, completely devoid of emotion. He even couldn't smile without seeming insincere.

On the other hand, it was perhaps precisely because of these reasons he could be said to be a good familiar. He was annoying because he was honest, he was dangerous because he was a warrior and he was monotonous because he was neutral in any situation and thus did nothing interesting because he had no incentive to do so. In fact, he was honest to a painful degree. Louise imagined that even if Kirei was forced to cooperate with his enemy, he would tell his enemy that he would stab them in the back. Although knowing him, he would perhaps even be able to kill his enemies later anyways.

"Fine, it's not like I know any important secrets anyways." Louise said then paused, at a loss for words. Kirei patiently waited.

"So," Louise hesitantly began speaking. "You are a mage."

"In theory, yes I am since I am somewhat able to use thaumaturgy. However, in my world, only performing thaumaturgy does not make one a mage. I am simply a spell caster, someone who uses thaumaturgy for practical purposes. In my case, that would be fighting and healing." Kirei explained. Louise stared at Kirei, bearing a strange expression.

"Well, if you can perform magic then doesn't that make you a mage?" She demanded.

"No it doesn't. Simply using magecraft doesn't mean that one is a true mage. A true mage uses magecraft to search for mysteries and the ultimate quest of all mages is the…" Kirei explained but was unexpectedly interrupted by Louise.

"Root." She blurted out. Then she immediately blushed, realizing her mistake. There was a deathly silence as she realized she had somehow revealed herself to be spying on his memories. Would he be angry? Well of course he would be! If someone else would peer into Louise's mind, she would perhaps blow them up or maybe even whip them. However, Kirei was several times more dangerous than Louise, perhaps equal to her mother. How would he react?

"You have been having dream sequences, haven't you?" Kirei said in a slightly amused tone. Louise couldn't find the humor in the revelation but if he wasn't angry that was good enough. For some reason, Kirei wasn't sporting his usual insincere manticore grin but was actually smiling a genuine, albeit thin lipped, smile. It was as if he found some aspect of her peering into his dreams funny.

"Yes." Louise answered softly.

"Interesting. I have been summoned barely fifty hours ago and yet you are already having dream sequences about me. In fact, I didn't know that you could have dream sequences to begin with." Kirei said in a musing tone. He then raised his head and faced Louise.

"How many dreams have you seen about me?"

"Two."

"Which ones?"

"One in which you conversed with that blond man named Archer and the second one in which you fought the man with the magical muskets."

"Magical muskets?"

"Yes, it was a musket that fired bullets rapidly."

"Louise, this may come as a surprise to you but a weapon like that is not a magical one. Also, I have fought many people who used weapons like that so you will have to be more specific." Kirei said, ignoring Louise's shocked look.

"Um, he had messy black hair, was wearing black clothes and could move really fast?" Louise said after recovering her wits. Kirei shook his head in a negative.

"You managed to punch him in the chest and send him flying into the wall, cracking it. He later got up and resumed the fight though." Louise added. Kirei's questioning look turned into a slightly sour one.

"Emiya Kiritsugu." He said and there was no doubt left in Louise's mind on how he perceived the man. The man named Emiya Kiritsugu was someone whom Kirei loathed extremely.

"Was he a bad person?" Louise asked timidly. Her fear of her familiar had increased due to him actually showing genuine distaste about something.

Kirei paused for a moment. "One could say that Emiya Kiritsugu was an extraordinary man. Indeed, I used to admire him once." Kirei said, speaking as if he was choosing word carefully. Louise felt puzzled. If Kirei hated that man, how could he have admired him once. But then she mentally corrected herself. It was possible that Kirei might have met this Emiya Kiritugu and found him unfriendly or cowardly.

"But then?" Louise prompted.

"I found out that he was mass murderer who killed for the sake of a task so foolish that even he knew that it was impossible." Kirei said. Louise felt her breath get tangled in her chest.

She had once read in a romantic novel that the greatest villains were not the once who performed the greatest evil but the ones who did such evil in spite of knowing its implications. That single quote had been the subject of research not only in literature but in politics and interestingly religion as well. In fact, one of the lines of the oath of the Dragon Knights was 'I shall commit no evil that I am aware of'. Her father and elder sister Eleonore often discussed this quote and got in arguments that had to be broken up by her mother.

And here, Kirei was telling that this Emiya Kiritsugu was a great monster who knew about his own monstrosity. Louise shivered slightly, recalling the dream. Suddenly, Kirei's brutal manner of fighting against Emiya Kiritsugu seemed justified to her. While she had been terrified of Kirei before at least now the fear had been tempered into a healthy dose of respect.

"Louise is there something on your mind? You have been silent for quite some time." Kirei asked.

"I was just wondering about this Emiya Kiritsugu. He reminds me of a quote from a book." Louise said and narrated the quote to Kirei.

"The greatest villains were not the once who performed the greatest evil but the ones who did such evil in spite of knowing its implications, was it?" Kirei said, his lips curling into an ugly smile. It was a cross between his usual insincere manticore smile and his true expression. For a moment, that expression stayed on his face, terrifying Louise to no small degree.

"How true." Kirei said, still smiling. He then noticed Louise and his usual expression returned. "What is the matter, Louise?" he asked.

"GET OUT!" The frightened girl shrieked. Kirei looked at her, his bored look once again back in place.

"Get out! Don't ever enter from this door again!" the pinkette repeated albeit not as loud as before.

Kirei sighed, got up and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him. Louise got up and attempted to bolt the door. She struggled with the rusty equipment before giving up and going back to her large bed and burying her head in the pillows.

She felt extremely humiliated. She had, without reason, lost her temper and her wits on Kirei just because he looked terrifying for a moment. True to his role as a familiar, he had left without even questioning or complaining. Still, Louise felt the need to apologize to him. She immediately quashed the feeling down. Her pride as a Valliere would never allow her to apologize to her familiar, even if he was a mage and thus potentially her equal in social standing.

Feeling the absurd need to cry, the pinkette buried her head further in the pillows and soon fell asleep.

Only to find herself conscious in another place. It took her a moment to realize that she was once again dreaming about her familiar.

"Founder damn that man, he never leaves me alone!" Louise muttered angrily, uttering a foul word that would have gotten her ears boxed by her elder sister Eleonore and a warning look from Catteleya.

She seemed to be in some kind of chapel or shrine of magnificent proportions. Each side was lined with large wooden benches. There was an altar at the front end of the chamber in which she was standing in. Three figures stood near it. A tall young man with red hair and a slightly shorter black haired girl were about to leave.

And behind them stood her familiar, Kotomine Kirei.

Kirei's height seemed even more defined since the absurdly tall red haired man was actually shorter than him. But what actually made Kirei seem a little different was his smile.

The same smile that had frightened Louise was dancing on his lips. The red haired man turned around to face Kirei and stepped back, startled. Not that Louise blamed him. Kirei's expression was just that repellent.

"What, do you have anything else to say?" the red haired man said in a loud voice, backing away. Kirei chose not to answer, staring at the red haired man.

"If you don't have anything to say, then I am leaving!" The red haired man continued but before he could turn away once more, Kirei spoke.

"Rejoice, Emiya Shirou, for your wish will be granted!" he said, declaring it as if he was a herald of fate. Louise was utterly confused by what Kirei meant. He wasn't acting like his usual disinterested self. From the look of the red haired man's face, neither did he.

"What are you saying all of a sudden?" The red haired man demanded.

"You should know. Your wish will not come true unless there is a clear evil. Even if it is not something you approve of, a superhero requires a villain to defeat." Kirei answered.

Either Kirei was deliberately being ambiguous or he was enjoying the mind games he was playing against his hapless opponent. And the two words he used were completely confusing. What was a superhero anyways? Louise had not heard of such a word either. The red haired man, on the other hand, had understood what Kirei had meant. His face was showing the rage and confusion that was present in his heart.

"Y-You…" he stammered out, his anger preventing him from speaking coherently. Before he could even finish what he had started to speak, Kirei hammered the last nail into the coffin.

"Good thing you have an enemy now." He smiled and for a moment, Louise felt like pulling out her wand and firing any spell at him. She couldn't believe that she was feeling sorry for him only a few short hours ago. Anyone who smiled that way could never be a good person.

Not satisfied with merely rendering the red headed man incapable of speech, Kirei added further insult to the injury.

"You do not need to fret over details. Your worries are right for a human." Kirei said, apparently enjoying the sight of the red headed man's bridled rage.

"Farewell, Emiya Shirou. This will be my last warning, but take care on your way home. Your world will change completely from now on. You are now at the point of killed or be killed. You are a Master now." Kirei said in a parting manner. The red headed man and the black haired woman walked away and out of the chamber.

The brief silence was broken almost immediately by a the sound of a man laughing. The clear sound was unmistakable. It was the sound of Archer.

"Wonderful performance, Kirei! You have not disappointed me after making me wait for ten years for a grand performance!" He said. The owner of the voice, Archer himself, was invisible. Before Louise could even attempt to look around, she woke up.

A cold draft had roused her from her sleep. The window was open and the wind entered from there. Louise got up and managed to close it with some difficulty. She turned around to see Kirei sleeping in the hay. She understood what had happened and barely repressed a chuckle. Denied the luxury of entering from doors, Kirei had taken the command quite literally and had entered from the window. Louise briefly considered punishing him but drowsiness and amusement prevented her from doing so. She climbed back into bed and this time covered herself with a blanket before going to sleep.

The narrator would like to point out that…

… oh screw it. The narrator doesn't have a point except that Louise should know the word superhero since it is a combination of two words that might have existed in her times and it wouldn't take a genius to deduce the meaning of that compound word. It isn't actually rocket theology after all, just plain and simple reasoning!

* * *

Five days after Katie's death, Honore de Gramont graced the Tristain's Academy with his presence. The carriage that drew up to the institute's gates was gilded and pulled by four milk white horses. Guiche was able to tell that it was his brother by those two details alone. Honore had a passion for horses, especially white ones.

After sometime, the door to his room opened and Honore stepped in along with Professor Colbert and Madame Chevreuse. Guiche barely looked up. He knew what fate awaited him and the thought made his heart feel heavy.

Honore was a strange man. Most people would describe him as fat. Indeed, his belly bulged out in a perverted manner, speaking of endless times spent in banquets and dinners. On the other hand, he was one of the few nobles who took hygiene seriously. Even in the Gramont family, which was renowned for its obsession with beauty and thus cleanliness, he came across as strange. He bathed regularly every week. He even made sure to wash his feet and hair with some foreign soap. Coupled with that, his obsession with horses made him a very competent rider. Thus one would describe him as a slightly muscular man with a horrendous paunch with bright skin.

All of this was not of consequence since Guiche knew why Honore had come here. It had been five days since the Heavy Wind had left for the court. It took three days to travel from there to here. Surely Honore was here to pronounce his sentence.

"Let's go, Guiche." Honore said in a cold voice. Guiche listlessly got up and walked along with his brother to the carriage and sat down inside. The horses started to canter towards their unknown destination. Guiche had long since resigned himself to such an unreasonable end. It was the Heavy Wind herself that had demanded him being thrown out of the family.

And then there was the fact that Guiche knew, from a distant part of his heart, that Honore would have jumped onto this opportunity. Among the four brothers, Honore was the only one who had inherited their mother's brains. He was the sharpest among them and had already secured the position as the Court's Treasury Overseer at such a young age. And he had not obtained this position through flattery or bribery, a course that Count Mott had taken. He had simply caused a scandal in court, showing proof to Count Mott's fiancé that he had been having an affair with another nobleman's daughter. Count Mott lost the post as well as his engagement, although it was the loss of the post that had hurt him more. Guiche had not known what the proof was but he did know why Honore would try to cut him out of the family.

Guiche's talent with Earth Magic would most certainly earn the approval of his father. If he applied himself with vigorously, he was sure to end as a Square Class Mage and thus rightfully earn the position as the inheritor of the Gramont estate. Guiche was the only obstacle that needed to be removed from the way for Honore to pave his successful career. Now that opportunity had presented itself and Honore had pounced on it like a cat on a mouse.

The carriage had stopped. How long had Guiche been musing silently?

"Give me your wand, Guiche." Honore rumbled. Guiche looked at his brother with an incredulous look.

"I have been disowned but that doesn't mean that my magic is forfeit as well!" Guiche said, an edge forming in his voice.

"The Heavy Wind asked me to destroy your wand and present its remains as a proof. You have been deemed as a hazard. I cannot allow you to keep your wand for fear that you might endanger the commoners." Honore said. Guiche snorted with grim amusement.

"Tell me brother dear, since when hhave you been so altruistic? Endanger the commoners? You never cared about them! If you want me dead without dirtying your hands to secure your position, at least be honest about it." Guiche said, the confidence of a doomed man in his voice. He was about to lose everything so there was no need for respect or decorum.

He had expected Honore to stutter. He had expected him to stammer. He had expected him to squirm or deny. What he hadn't expected was for him to reach into Guiche's pockets and pull out the rose wand itself. With a startled cry, Guiche tried to snatch it back but he was too late. With a swift motion, Honore ripped off the rose wand's petals. The remaining wand seemed to wither.

"Get off." He said. Guiche hesitated and in that moment, the driver opened the carriage's door, pulled him out and left him on the road. With a swift motion, he closed the door and leapt back into his place. He cracked his whip and the carriage went off. Guiche was left sitting on the road, scarcely able to believe what had happened. In one fell motion, everything had changed. At least he had a wand before. Now, he was truly helpless. He wouldn't be able to survive the world of commoners.

The young man got up, gingerly brushing his clothes. He walked over to a bench to try to get his bearings. He sat down and thought about his predicament a little. He had the clothes on his back and a few coins in his pouch. His cloak was slightly dirty due to falling off the carriage. He was feeling hungry.

As long as he was alive, there was hope. Guiche decided to count his money to see how long he could survive. He took out his pouch and emptied its contents in his hand. He found twelve gold coins. Normally, they would never be sufficient for him to live by. But he no longer needed to live, he needed to survive. The worth of the twelve gold coins seemed to increase a hundredfold.

In the narrator's opinion, counting your money in public is extremely stupid.

As soon as Guiche stood up, someone came running full tilt, grabbed his pouch and took off. For a moment, Guiche stood there absolutely stunned and having no idea on what to do. A split second later he began to chase after the thief, who already had a significant head start.

"Stop thief!" Guiche yelled. He briefly wondered why no one bothered to help in chasing the robber.

"Stop thief!" Guiche screamed as the robber drew closer. Guiche pumped all the power he had into his legs.

"Stop thief!" Guiche called out in a hoarse voice as the thief ducked into a dark alley. Guiche followed him.

And got jumped by two more young men. Guiche was unceremoniously knocked out.

"Who're ya callin' thief, ya shameless noble?" One of them said as he kicked Guiche's ribs.

"It's our money to begin with!" The other said.

"Ya nobles tink you can rob us of our money! Ya tax us and trow us in da dungeons ven ve can't pay! Serves ya right!" The thief himself said, overseeing the two others beating the daylight out of the blond noble.

None of this was heard by Guiche since he had most inconveniently passed out.

He woke up to find himself in a completely different atmosphere. For a moment, his mind was a blank. Slowly, his memories pieced themselves together. Slowly, he felt the mist in his mind lift. Ever so slowly, everything started to make sense.

The first issue that needed to be addressed was clothes. He was lying in a cot of some kind inside a dark room and a meager blanket was covering his body. Someone had removed his clothes for some reason. Guiche tried to sit up but his stiff and painful body seemed reluctant to follow his orders.

"Hush! Don't move. You are bruised enough as it is. Those scoundrels had the gall to rob someone in broad daylight." A soft voice whispered. Guiche couldn't see well enough in the darkness but he could make out a silhouette. Judging from the voice, his caretaker was a woman.

"Light." Guiche croaked.

"We can't light the lantern. There is no oil." The woman replied. Guiche decided to settle down in his cot and fall asleep.

He woke up after sometime to see daylight streaming through the window just above his cot. Guiche looked around to see where he was. He was in a meagerly furnished room, which was impressive considering that he always thought that nobles slept with their livestock. A small battered table was in the center of the room with a stone jug and crude wooden cup set on it. The only cot in the room was occupied by him.

And on a chair beside the cot sat a sleeping woman in a white gown of sorts. Guiche had to blink several times to be sure that he was not dreaming. He wasn't surprised by the woman's beauty as much as he was surprised by her not looking like and inbred oaf or an ugly hag. A fair commoner woman was a rare thing to be seen. Most of them were either plucked out of their homes to serve as mistresses to the nobles. Others disappeared for no ordinary reason. Guiche gingerly sat up, causing the cot to groan in protest and wake the fair maiden.

"Oh thank Founder, you are awake. I was worried that you may not survive the night." She said in a soft voice which Guiche recognized. She had been his caretaker. Guiche's old habits of womanizing tried to resurface but were immediately quashed down by the memory of Katie's death.

"Survive?" Guiche asked, quite confused by what she meant.

"Yes, you were suffering from a most terrible fever. I was afraid that death would take you at any moment." She said.

"Indeed?" Guiche said in a confused voice. The woman got up and bustled out of the room. Guiche remained sitting, quite confused at the recent turn of events. How had she dragged him here? He was quite sure that he had fainted in some knockturned street, not in the cot of a woman. Why ad she saved him? There seemed to be no merit in saving someone like him. He was broke!

The woman returned with a steaming bowl of some kind of food. She fed Guiche with a wooden ladle. The food was steaming hot, its texture was eldritch and the taste was disgusting. But the food itself was quite welcome. Having been deprived of nutrition for nearly a day, Guiche de Gramont ate with an enthusiasm only found in starving men.

"Thank you, my good woman for such a wonderful meal." Guiche thanked the girl from the bottom of his heart.

"Hmph, such courtesy from a noble to a commoner. I am surprised." The woman said in wry tone. Guiche blinked in surprise. "Surprised? Well it is easy to tell. For one thing, your skin isn't covered with grime at all. And you actually followed the thief. No one follows a thief. It is utmost folly to do so. They do not follow the rules of engagement." The woman said. Guiche blinked once again.

"Ah, may I know your name, fair maiden?" Guiche said.

"Flattery will get you nowhere in the neck of these woods, Sir Noble. It is either money or deeds that do the talking. But in answer to your question, I am Paulette and you are in the outskirts of Tristania." The woman smiled.

Guiche blinked. One thing stuck to his mind. How did the petite woman in front of him manage to bring him to this room. The answer to this question in his mind was answered almost a moment late when the tallest man he had ever seen entered the room.

This was the second time in his life that he had been so terrified in his life. The first time when he had seen the Heavy Wind had declared her intent to press his disownment.

The man in front of him was taller than Valliere's familiar, who was a tall man to begin with, and was broader than any infantryman he had seen.

"Well, is our guest awake, dear wife?" The gigantic man in front of him bellowed.

"Yes he is dear husband." Paullete smiled. Then she turned to Guiche who was staring at the man without blinking. "This is my husband, Paul. He is a baker by profession." She said proudly. Guiche nodded soundlessly.

An awkward moment passed before the silence was broken by Paul the Baker clearing his throat importantly.

"So boy, now that you are here, safe from thieves and blackguards. What are you going to do now?" He asked in a voice that carried a hint of concern. The notion of a commoner actually caring about the problems of a recently disowned noble with nothing to his name was so baffling that Guiche did the only think he could that came to his mind.

He blinked.

Then finally he spoke.

"Why?" He asked in a dry voice. It wasn't a voice that carried the subtle hint of satire nor was it a tone that implied ridicule.

The whole idea about commoners actually concerning themselves for him was too mind boggling.

"Why what?" Paul the Baker questioned.

"Why are you helping me even though I have nothing to give?" Guiche asked, his tone stronger now.

"Boy," Paul the Baker said as he sat down beside him in the cot. "I have met a lot of disowned nobles."

"You have? We're quite troublesome lot, aren't we?" Guiche said with a touch of humor in his tone. Paul the Baker simply shook his head.

"No no, most of you are simply abandoned by nobles who can't find it in their hearts to kill their own relatives. Only a few of them really deserve it." Paul said. Paullete got up silently and walked out of the room.

"The meat of the matter being?" Guiche pressed.

"It being that most of you are not bad people at heart. You simply live in a different environment than us. You have been raised like this. For me to attack you for being a noble are not very ethical even if justified somewhat." Paul said. Guiche snorted.

"Never thought I would see the day when a commoner would declare himself to be ethical of all things." Guiche said and immediately wished a second later that he hadn't. Paul showed a remarkable degree of patience, only sighing in a tired manner.

"You young nobles start out all the same. Let me tell you something, boy. Ethics are not limited to people like the Founder or St. Jacob. Even we commoners are bound by ethics. And why would do we bind ourselves, you may ask? It's because ethics are the only concepts that keep us commoners from descending to the level of heathens." Paul said. Noting Guiche's confused look Paul sighed again.

"Look, boy, what I meant to say was this. It is never wrong to do the right thing no matter how wrong it seems. Killing you would satisfy me somewhat but is it the correct thing to do? It isn't, isn't it? That is why I am helping you." Paul said.

Guiche said nothing. A little more than a week ago, he had broken the heart of two women, publicly humiliated, had his pride wounded by a familiar, seen the corpse of his former lover, been accused for the murder of said lover, defeated by the murderer of her lover who was also the familiar who bruised his ego, man handled by the Heavy Wind, kept in captivity by his former teachers, disowned by his brother, had his wand destroyed, had been robbed and then beaten by a bunch of commoners. It would have been quite understandable if Guiche would have become a bitter misanthrope.

The narrator would like to note that it is also entirely possible that Guice would have snapped, used his new found charisma to create a rebel army that would have stormed the castles and then declared himself King of Tristain. But that's a story for someone else to write.

But here, a mere baker had restored his inherent trust in the goodness of humanity in a few words. If the five day long imprisonment in his own room hadn't rendered Guiche mildly unemotional, he would have started crying on the spot. As it was he merely smiled.

"Thank you, Sir Paul. May Brimir bless your soul." Guiche said simply.

"Ah yes, well you are welcome as well." Paul said and Guiche noted that his face had suddenly reddened for no reason. He then cleared his throat once again. "Now that we have settled matters, would you please tell me what do you intend to do now?" He asked.

Guiche sank deep in thought. Quite a few moments passed by before he raised his head.

"I am going to ask my father to restore my position back in the family." Guiche said.

"Oh really? Well where is your father?" Paul asked.

"He must be at the Gramont family estate." Guiche answered.

"So how do you intend to go all the way there?" Paul asked.

"I'll walk." Guiche bluntly answered, startling Paul.

"You don't jest? You are indeed not jesting about your claim? You truly intent to traverse the entire length of Tristain to get there?" Paul said, his voice growing louder as Guiche cringed.

"Yes well, it is quite an important matter you see. I need to be in a position of power to achieve what I want." Guiche answered.

"Is it worth risking your life?" Paul said, shaking Guiche violently. Guiche's teeth chattered but he still answered, albeit quite shakily.

"Yes."

"Listen to me, boy! The life of a commoner may not be quite appealing as it may seem first but it is a blessing from the Founder in disguise! No need for politics! No need of feuds! A brotherhood between the people, a sweet friendship the likes of which you have never know and shall never know! The life of a noble is not worth it! It is not worth your life!" Paul yelled.

"You seem to know a lot about the lives of nobles, my dear baker." Guiche noted idly. Paul quieted down and sat into a chair. A moment of silence passed between them.

"You yourself are a disowned noble, are you not?" Guiche probed.

"Indeed, I am." Paul answered grumpily.

"No wonder you are so keen to help disowned nobles. No ordinary commoner would feel such empathy for us. How many have you helped so far?" Guiche asked.

"You are the twelfth."

"How many survived this world?"

"One."

"What happened to the other ten?"

"They assumed that their families would be willing to welcome them back."

"And they weren't so welcoming after all?"

"Hardly. I don't think those poor devils managed to reach their homes. Probably killed by wolves or bandits when they were homeward bound."

"What of that exception?"

"You mean Armand. He never told me which family he belonged to, something I was willing not to pry about. He accepted his fate and became an apprentice in a blacksmith's shop and actually managed to get accepted by the others despite his status as a dot class fire mage."

"How is he faring nowadays?"

"Some rotten bastard killed him with a musket. A strange musket it was too. It made no sound since he was hot at night yet the people never heard the crack of the musket firing."

"It is a pity. May Brimir bless his soul."

"Brimir bless his soul."

"Well, I thank you for your kindness, my dear baker. But what I need to do is something that must be done. I am willing to risk my life for it." Guiche said and he endeavored to get up. Paul pressed down his shoulder.

"You are not risking your life while I am here, boy! I am going to make you a baker and the finest one in all of Tristania! I have witnessed eleven of my surrogate sons die in absurd manners and you are not going to complete the baker's dozen!" Paul roared.

"At lend me a change of clothes, Master. I daresay you would not want your apprentice wander about the shop naked?" Guiche said, in his most honeyed voice. Paul's sharp gaze softened and he grudgingly got up and brought a shirt, breeches and a rough coat of some kind which Guiche gingerly put on save for the coat.

"Now, go to sleep, boy. Tomorrow we shall see whether you are fit enough or not." Paul commanded and Guiche meekly obeyed.

That night, a lone figure hobbled out of the baker's house and headed towards the mountains.

Guiche de Gramont appreciated the kindness Paul the Baker had shown him. Tta wide man had earned his eternal gratitude and he would make sure to repay him. But right now, there was only one thing that took priority.

The murder of Valliere's familiar.

_**Only two perspectives, Louise the Zero and Guiche the Bronze this time but more will come soon. Please tell me of any plot holes because this is a hastily typed chapter. And also single handedly written because I sprained my left arm.**_

_**Again.**_

_**Parkour accident.**_

_**Don't ask.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight: In which the post-modernism of this fic begins to die out**_

The Royal Palace had a separate wing for visiting nobles known as the Hostel. It was a place where nobles waiting for their appointments in court could stay. It was a well built and a well furnished building but in the end, all nobles preferred their own homes and estates.

Karin Desiree de La Valliere woke up in her four poster bed, blinking sleepily. She had arrived a week ago and yet she still hadn't gained an audience with Princess Henrietta. Not that she would have pressed for one. There were times when simply demanding did not give the best result even if it was the desirable result. It would have been trivially easy for her to simply walk into the Royal Study and talk with Henrietta but that wouldn't be the proper thing to do. A Valliere was always proper.

She recalled the meeting with Honore de Gramont at the very day she had arrived. Bedivere had to fly from morning till night to reach the Royal Palace. His wings had shivered slightly from the fatigue when he had landed. Karin had made sure to have him fed first before all other orders of business. And when Bedivere had been sated, she led him to her room in the Hostel which had been allocated to her beforehand. It was in the Hostel's main hallway where she met Honore.

"You're Grace!" The fat man squawked in surprise. Karin felt her lips wrinkle in distaste. She was a military woman and had no patience for politicians. The only ones she tolerated were her husband, Marianne and Henrietta and that was only because of her close relationship with them. Honore de Gramont was a politician through and through. His only redeeming quality, from Karin's perspective, was that he had an ample respect for her. Since he was here, by some queer coincidence only the Founder knew about, she might as well take the matter up with him. She was planning to discuss the Gramont boy's disownment with the General himself but if a matter could be resolved quickly enough, Karin was not one to delay.

"Gramont, there is something I need to discuss with you." Karin frowned. The obese noble in front of her had offered a nervous smile which Karin did not bother to return.

"Indeed?" Honore stammered and fidgeted on the spot.

"Your youngest brother, Guiche, attacked my daughter's familiar. I translate that as an attack on her and consequently, an attack on the Valliere family." Karin declared. The man before him seemed to quiver like a rat. His vole familiar seemed to shiver along with its Master.

"Please forgive…" Honore began to stammer out.

"This vendetta can only be vanquished if you vow to disown him." Karin dictated.

"Pardon?" Honore said in a surprised tone.

"I will only forgive this attack if you cut out your youngest brother from the family." Karin repeated, irritated by the man's stupidity. For some reason, his stammer was gone.

"Your Grace, I would like a written record of that." Honore bravely asked. Karin glared at him for a moment causing the fat man to once again start shaking like a leaf. She suddenly turned around and went inside her room, leaving a stupefied Honore de Gramont standing in the hallway. A few moments later, she returned and offered a sheet of paper to Honore who took it with shaking hands.

'On this momentous day

Karin Desiree de La Valliere agrees to not instigate a vendetta against the Gramont family due to an attack on the Valliere family by a member of the Gramont family if the Gramont family agrees to disown the culprit, Guiche de Gramont, and forever bar entry and acceptance back into their family.

Karin Desiree de La Valliere, Ducchess of the Duchy de La Valliere'

While it would have been better to deal with General Gramont, Karin knew that using Honore was necessary simply because Honore was a coward. Despite being a politician, the General was a military man. He wouldn't be intimidated by her so easily. Not only that, a man like him would try his best to keep his son in the family, even if she asked him. It was a noble sentiment, even if it was the wrong one in this situation, considering that his son almost started a feud between two of the largest noble houses of Tristain.

That man had been a greater coward than Karin had imagined him to be. As soon as he received the letter assuring him that no feud would ensue, he had immediately trotted out of the Hostel and driven away on a carriage, having thrown etiquette and manners to the wind. He should have first notified the Keeper of the Hostel about his departure, requested his audience with Princess Henrietta to be cancelled and then deposited the parting gifts that each noble brought to the court when they stayed at the Hostel. Yet he had immediately scurried away like the vole he was. Karin sniffed. How she hated politicians.

She got up and stretched.

And immediately picked up her sword, unsheathed and performed various fencing stances in quick succession several times. Bedivere sleepily watched her with his left eye open but he was otherwise undisturbed by his mistress's vigorous movements. Karin had pride in three things; military discipline, chivalry and her fighting prowess. The last had to be maintained perfectly and Karin did so with an enthusiasm seldom found in nobles.

"That Honore is the greatest coward I've ever known." She said out loud. Bedivere lazily raised his ear but otherwise remained still. "Even if I am the Heavy Wind, one must defend his family before giving in. He surrendered before even making a single protest! Granted, an evildoer must be punished but family values also matter. He should have at least inquired about the nature of his brother's attack on the Valliere family."

Bedivere growled in a low tone. Karin switched hands and started performing the same set of stances with the sword in her left hand. "Now do not comment on the hypocrisy of my argument, Bedivere! For it isn't hypocritical at all. A brother may condemn his brother only when his guilt is proven. Even St. Jacob said that! Although I admit the circumstances were different in his times. Honore de Gramont was cowed by me without even defending his sibling. That is the height of cowardice!" Karin declared with a flourish.

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter." Karin commended. The door was opened by a palace footman.

"Your Grace, the Captain of the Royal Guard Chevalier Auguste Gagnon de Navarre has just arrived at the Palace and desires an audience with you in his personal study." He said demurely. Karin halted.

She had completely forgotten about Katie, the girl who had committed suicide. Even if the nonexistent feud between the Vallieres and the Gramonts had been snuffed by the disownment of the boy named Guiche de Gramont, the quarrel between Auguste and the Gramonts had not been quelled. She sighed as she dismissed the footman with a wave of her hand, sheathing her sword and starting to get dressed in the proper clothes. Honore had been a coward so eliminating a feud had been easy. Gagnon was Manticore Knight just like herself. He would pose a challenge.

Dressed in her plate armor and having donned her iron mask, Karin exited her room and the Hostel on Bedivere. No one dared to criticize her. As soon as she got out, Karin urged Bedivere to fly. Bedivere obliged, leaping high and flapping his gigantic wings twice. They rose to a significant height before Karin kicked him lightly in the side with her heels. Bedivere obeyed and immediately dropped into a dive. He snapped open his wings just in time to pull up from the dive and land. Karin, hardly perturbed from the violent ride, dismounted and inspected the building in front of her.

The Barracks for the Royal Guard looked less like a barracks and more like some minor nobles villa. Karin had mildly wondered whether she should blow down the entire structure with a spell but then discarded it. She might disturb Marianne. The soldier that lived here were scarcely men of worth. Most of the time, they consisted of the sons of nobles who had no chance of gaining a rank and yet needed to reach some rank or station. Most of the time, they ended up either as part of the Mage Corps or the Royal Guard. Having been brought up in a life of luxury, they spent their lives pampered as so called Royal Guards.

Gagnon must be tearing his hair out in fury, Karin mused. She turned to Bedivere and beckoned for him to follow her.

He didn't move. He was standing stock still. Karin immediately realized that there was danger nearby. She quickly pulled her sword out of its sheath and gripped her wand quickly.

The man attacked from the behind. A straight stab in the back that would have been fatal if Karin wouldn't have intercepted the blow. The second slash was blocked, the third was parried and before the man could attack a fourth time, Karin kicked out. The man stumbled back and looked up to find Karin's sword's tip at his throat.

"Wonderful work as always, Your Grace." The man grunted.

"Was this why you asked me to come here, Gagnon?" Karin asked evenly.

"No no, not at all. The reasons for summoning you are totally different." Gagnon grumbled.

Karin arched an eyebrow. "Reasons?" She repeated.

"Would you mind stepping into my study, Your Grace?" Gagnon said in a firm tone. Karin had noticed the surrounding on lookers before but now she noticed that the numbers had swelled. She heard people whispering about her identity. Apparently many of them thought that she was a man. No different to how it was several years ago. The small spar between her and Gagnon had attracted undue attention.

"Very well. Come, Bedivere." Karin said in a brusque tone and followed the Captain of the Royal Guard inside the flamboyant barracks.

Gagnon's study was as large as the bedroom Karin had in the Hostel. There were several rather tasteful pieces of furniture inside including a bureau, a writing desk, several shelves and some chairs. In the middle of the room lay a single dark Manticore. Karin made a sound in her throat, commanding Bedivere silently against going and disturbing the Manticore.

"I forgot you were one of the few men in the company who had a Forest Manticore for a familiar." Karin commented. Gagnon sighed as he settled into his chair behind the desk. He gestured towards Karin to have a seat. Karin settled down in her chair and took off her mask.

"Your Grace, as I said, I asked you to come here for two reasons." Gagnon said then he fell silent. The moment hung in the air and both of them couldn't breach the silence. Gagnon did not shed tears or even try to show any signs of grief. He just remained silent.

"I am truly sorry for your loss, Auguste." Karin said, forgoing decorum and addressing her former subordinate with his given name.

"Madeline was a fine woman. She loved me for who I was." Gagnon said emptily. Karin wondered how long had he known. Had Osmond told him? Or was it perhaps Jean?

"My wife married me because her family was in dire straits. She needed to regain her position among the nobles. I had married her at that time because I was young and foolish. I fell in love with her face. I had just entered the Manticore Corps at that time. Among all the suitors, I was the one whose future was the brightest. That was the only reason I won her hand. Why else would a man with the face of a bulldog be able to marry someone like her?" Gagnon said. Karin remained silent.

The battlefield was a strange thing. Men became heroes and heroes became men in a single day on a battlefield. Some broke, some toughened, many changed yet just as many remained the same. Karin was amongst those who remained firm in her ways and toughened. It was, for some time, the only way of life she knew as the Hero of Tristain, the Heavy Wind.

Gagnon was never a hero. Gagnon was just a man who had been fortunate enough to be accepted into the Manticore Corps. Simply having a manticore familiar did not make one a Manticore Knight. It took more than just that. Which was why they were one of the elite mages of the Tristainian Army. Gagnon was simply content on surviving and living. The battlefield changed him. He had turned from a glory seeker to a man content with simply living.

As the commander, Karin was anything but compassionate. But one thing she had learned was that simply listening to her soldier's woes seemed to improve their battle performance later. Which was why she made a point to never interrupt a fellow knight when he was feeling sad. She simply listened patiently because it was all she could do.

"Madeline was a simple woman but a wise one. We had met in Navarre, near my estates when I was on leave. She was the illegitimate child of some noble. Founder knows that we have enough of them. She was a mage but she had never been accepted into her true home. She had simply made do with her magic and her wits amongst the commoners for Founder knows how long. She was a healer and thus she had managed to live by. I met her when I was going through the village in which she lived, some place called Domremy or something like that." Gagnon continued speaking, completely lost in his past by now. Karin patiently listened, having no idea on what he meant by all of that.

"She was healing a little commoner boy. I was intrigued by the fact that a commoner was using magic and asked her about it. I learnt about her. I visited her many times during my leave. One thing led to another and I realized that I had madly fallen in love with her. She paid attention to me, unlike my legal family. She cared for me because I was Auguste Gagnon, not because I was a Manticore Knight. She saw me for the man I was." Gagnon said, his eyes staring emptily.

"And then she died. The greatest irony about her death is that she died because there were no other Water mages nearby to heal her. But even when she died, she left me the greatest gift she could. She gave me Katie. She gave me a daughter." Gagnon said, his voice resonating inside the room.

"Katie was very much like her mother. She was simple. She was caring. She couldn't bring herself to even talk back to my two sons from my wife." Gagnon said. And then his eyes suddenly lit up with a fury comparable to Karin's. "Then why did she have to die. Why is that Gramont brat alive?" He roared.

"Auguste." Karin said sharply but her words went unheeded.

"She did not deserve to die! I did not take her to see Romalia! I did not attend the Founder's sermon with her! I made so many promises that I couldn't keep! That Gramont brat robbed me! He took away the one reason I could bear my wife's incessant harping and the oafish antics of my sons! I demand blood!" Gagnon yelled.

"AUGUSTE!" Karin roared, drowning Gagnon's voice. He looked at her, the flame of anger gone from his eyes. "The boy has been disinherited. There is no reason for you to start a feud with the Gramont family." She said.

Gagnon stared at her disbelievingly. "This is not a petty feud, Your Grace." Gagnon said. "This is not a fight over land or titles. This is revenge and it will only be sated when I personally…" The rest of what he said was cut off by a tremendous knock on the door.

"Enter." Karin said sharply. The door opened and a palace footman stepped inside. "Her Royal Highness, the Lady Protector of Tristain and Patron of the Tristainian Church of the Founder, Princess Henrietta will grant her audience to you, Duchess de La Valliere." He announced. Karin rose from her seat and face Gagnon.

"I will strongly advise against it, Gagnon. It would be an unwise choice to do something like that. It could damage your career." Karin said, playing her mask back on.

"The career doesn't mean anything if I don't have Katie." Gagnon said in a tired voice.

"Nevertheless, I would advise against it. Your mind is in turmoil right now. You would later regret damaging your own career." Karin said. Gagnon remained silent. Karin silently put on her mask and exited the room.

Karin wondered slightly whether she was forgetting something. Gagnon had failed to mention what the second thing on his mind actually was. She quickly brushed off all those thoughts. She had an audience with Henrietta. She couldn't afford to have nagging thoughts in her mind. Holding her head high, Karin marched out of the Royal Guard's barracks.

* * *

Guiche de Gramont opened his eyes. He blinked vary slowly. He then blinked several times. There was a ceiling made of stone above him, a rough and earthy ceiling the likes of which Guiche had never seen before. Slowly his hearing came back. He could hear water flowing. He could hear the roar of a fire. He could hear men talking. Slowly and gingerly, he sat up and looked around.

He found himself inside a cave which was populated by seven men. All of whom were sitting around the fire and talking in low voices.

"Ah, thank the Founder, yer up!" The burliest man in the group said heartily.

"Pity." A seedy looking man with buck teeth muttered. He was balancing a dagger on his fingers.

"Shaddap, Remy!" The burly man snapped and then he turned his attention back to Guiche. "Yer familiar nearly gave us a 'art attack when she brough' ya here!" He grinned, gesturing towards a sleeping pile of fur. Guiche blearily inspected it and then reached out to touch it. Verdandi the Mole uncurled herself and tickled Guiche with her whiskers.

"What happened?" Guiche asked in a confused voice.

"Your frackin' rat brought you here, that's what happened." The surly buck-toothed answered.

"Remy, mind yer frackin' language!" the burly man snapped.

"Oh! Now I'm supposed to take advice from the frackin' hypocrite? Because you're a hypocrite, John!" Remy retorted.

"Will ya frackin' pair of lunkheads shut yer mouths? " A third man jumped into the conversation. And just like that, all the men present in the cave started quarreling with each other.

"SILENCE!" Someone roared, effectively shutting up every single man. Guiche de Gramont coldly appraised each and every man in the room. He finally pointed his finger at the burly man named John.

"Where am I? Who are you? How did I get her and what do you intend to do to me?" He commanded.

"We are currently at the mountain range in Navarre. We are mountain bandits. As Remy told you, your mole familiar brought you here and we don't intend to let you escape. Would be a frackin' shame if the army were to discover us." Remy answered instead of John.

"Remy! We're no' gonna 'old 'im prisona'!" John said in a scandalized toned.

"That's the one thing I greatly hate about you, John. Always playing the role of St. Jacob. The only reason I didn't kill you was because Edward was willing to vouch for you and he is the strongest man we have in our ranks. But Founder help me, if you're going to let that frackin' noble brat go and risk the group's secrecy and safety, I am going to cut you." Remy said dangerously. Guiche was mildly intrigued by the fact that John, who was over two heads taller than Remy, cowered away from the rat faced man.

"And why would anyone believe in the word of a disowned noble like me?" Guiche commented, hoping for them to release him on those grounds.

"It's not a point whether you're a noble, a disowned noble or just a commoner. We are not taking risks. We are not letting you go. That is that." A fourth man said. His long blonde hair, scar on his chin and bulging build left no doubt in Guiche's mind on who he was.

"Said what I had in mind, Edward." Remy said in a satisfied tone, as if he had proved a point.

"Then why don't you just go ahead and kill me?" Guiche asked.

"Kill you? Why would we do that after we nursed you back to health?" To Guiche's surprise, it was Remy who said that.

"Says the man who just stabbed three Tristainian soldiers in quick succession just two weeks ago." A fourth man deadpanned.

"Shut up, Duccio, you Romalian oaf! I was a different man two weeks ago!" Remy snapped back.

"Even I can come up with a better excuse than that and I am a Germanian bumpkin with no imagination." A fifth man said dryly.

"Jest admi' it Remy, ya cannae bring yerself to kill in col' blood." The burly John said smiling.

"Shut up! I am a murderer! I killed three Tristainian soldiers in quick succession two weeks ago!" Remy snarled, grabbing John's lapels. John didn't look terrified this time at all.

"But ya jast said that ya were a different man two weeks ago." John gently pointed out.

"Do you guys always bicker like this?" Guiche asked Edward.

"It's better than theatre and the only source of entertainment for miles round." Edward answered.

"Look, Remy, being kind hearted is not a vice, you know." The fifth man said gently.

"Shut up, you frackin' bunch of fools! I am not kind hearted! I only want to keep him alive because it took us two days to nurse him back to health! It would make me look like a hypocrite if we killed him!" Remy snarled. The irony of the statement was not lost on anyone.

"Then what are you going to do to me if you are not going to kill me?" Guiche asked in an exasperated tone.

"The boy's right, what are we going to do with him, Remy?" The fifth man asked.

"My dear simple minded Herman, do you not see? We will simply make him a part of our band!" Remy said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Is he usually this hypocritical or is it because I am a noble?" Guiche asked Edward.

"It's because yer a noble, tha' why. The idea of savin' the life of a noble don't sit well with Remy, Founder bless 'is soul. Man 'ates the monarchy more than he 'ates the soldiers but he 'ates lettin' people die even more than the monarchy. He cannae brin' 'imself to kill ya but he don' wanna le' ya go as well." John said.

"Well, I knew commoners didn't like us nobles but this passion is kind of unexpected." Guiche said.

"Tis mo' than jes' tha' though, mo' than jes' tha'. Man like 'im 'ave many stories to tell tha' they keep 'idden. Stories we cannae tell ya." John said.

"I see." Guiche said. He cleared his throat significantly and the attention of all the men inside the cave turned to him. "Remy, I accept your proposal on one condition." He said.

"You're not in a position to make demands, you frackin' excuse of a man." Remy growled. Guiche frowned and held back a florid retort from rolling off his tongue. The man wouldn't understand what the insult would mean and Guiche didn't want to give up on this chance.

"In that case, I will simply escape from this place. You'll regret not killing me." Guiche said.

"Even if he can't kill, I can." Duccio answered.

"Doesn't matter. If I die on my way to my goal then I will still be satisfied." Guiche said, disguising himself in a sense of bravado. A moment passed before Duccio stood down.

"Yer serious, ain't ya?" John said in an awed voice while Edward gave him several appraising looks. Guiche ignored them.

"Fine then. Name your terms." Remy conceded grudgingly.

"I will join your band after you give me enough training for me to be able to kill a man." Guiche said. At this the entire group of men snorted save for Edward who merely smiled in an amused manner.

"That's it? We thought you would ask for something unthinkable, like abducting the woman of your dreams." Herman said. The thought of abducting a woman made Guiche frown darkly.

"No. Never anything like that. But why did you laugh?" Guiche asked.

"In case you missed Remy's declaration earlier, we are bandits who fight and kill soldiers. Killing is our business." The sixth man said.

"And business is good." The seventh man said.

"Shaddap, Lind." Remy snarled. "You as well, Lars." He growled to the other.

"This is no ordinary man we are discussing. He can punch through bronze." Guiche said in a concerned voice.

"And Edward can bend iron. I am telling you, by the time we are done with you, you'll make women swoon for you." Duccio said.

"Would that serve any practical purpose?" Guiche deadpanned.

"What they mean' was that ya will be as stron' as Edward." John said in a reassuring voice. Guiche considered all this and finally settled in a worrying state of calm. "Well, then. I accept." Guiche said, offering his hand to Remy. The rat faced man simply stared at it beofr walking away.

"Just because I spared your life doesn't mean I am friends with you." He said before walking out of the cave. Guiche frowned while John and Duccio got up and went after him. Remy returned a little while later with an angry expression on his face, John and Duccio standing behind him.

"But since I was the one who frackin' invited you, I will say this once and only once." He said before inhaling deeply, gritted his teeth and then spoke.

"Welcome to the Band of Falcons, mate."

* * *

"You're doing it incorrectly, mistress."

Louise was extremely surprised when she heard Kirei speak. It was not the fact that Kirei had spoken at all. It was because he had pointed out a mistake in what she was doing.

Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere was a noble woman who followed the Rule of Steel, who had a fine palate developed by eating some of the finest foods Tristain had to offer. She could, despite such a small stature, ride horses meant for people of larger height. She could recite her family tree on the spot.

She also liked knitting.

And right now Kirei was pointing out the mistakes she made.

"What do you mean?" Louise asked, trying to sound stubborn. To receive advice on such a feminine matter from a man she found to be the epitome of manliness was an insult to her femininity.

Kirei simply plucked the needles and wool out of her hands and quickly knitted a few inches of wool before handing it back to her.

"How did you do that?" Louise asked agape in surprise. Kirei blinked.

"My apologies mistress, my finger speed was too fast for you to observe." Kirei said. He then sat down besides Louise on the bed and repeated his motion slowly and several times before handing the needles back to Louise. Louise looked at Kirei, her mind still unable to wrap around the reality that Kirei could knit. She had gone to class today only to be sent back because classes had been cancelled for some reason. She had decided to knit for lack of anything else to do.

And had received the greatest surprise of her life.

Kirei was a man who could effortlessly crush Guiche's bronze constructs, who could leap out of a second story window with no ill effects, survive having his heart ripped out without the support of any magical aid, had the dry wit of an Albionian, manners of a Romalian and the grin of a manticore. And he could also knit better than Louise. Louise had been trying for several months to knit a scarf for her elder sister Catteleya with no success. Now it seemed that she would be able to make some progress. But to receive aid from Kirei was both surprising and slightly insulting.

"How do you know knitting, Kirei?" Louise asked. Kirei paused for a moment and considered the question.

"It was taught to us Executors as a means to strengthen our fingers so that handling and use of the Black Keys of Providence would become easier and faster. Such training is essential for us to get an edge over Apostles." Kirei said.

Now it was Louise who blinked her eyes in surprise. She tried thinking of something to say but words failed her.

"Knitting is an exercise that helps me in the handling of my weapons." Kirei simplified, an amused grin creeping on his face. No doubt he was enjoying her confusion. Louise looked down with a sigh and resumed knitting. She kept forgetting what she had seen in the dream. Kirei was a man who had never felt pleasure. The reason he smiled so unconvincingly was because he was only smiling for the sake of convention.

"Mistress, what is the matter?" Kirei suddenly asked.

"There is nothing that is wrong." Louise answered quickly.

"You lie. Something is troubling you." Kirei pressed.

"You are troubling me!" Louise snapped. Kirei blinked.

"Apologies mistress." Kirei said and he stood up and went to stand beside the window. There was a moment of silence before Louise broke it.

"Kirei, I am sorry." She said, her head hung low.

"Why are you apologizing? I was pressing you needlessly, wasn't I?" Kirei asked.

"Yes but you were doing it out of concern. It was wrong of me to rebuke your advances." Louise said.

"And why was it wrong? I am your familiar. Surely for you to rebuke the advances of your familiar is not a problem?" Kirei asked. His grin was back in his customary place. Louise pressed her hands together.

"It was wrong because you are not an ordinary familiar. You are a mage, you are a man who cares about my well being but most of all, you are a man. You do not deserve to be treated like this because that would be wrong." Louise said. Kirei shook his head.

"You are still not telling the truth, Louise. I can tell. None of those reasons justify an apology. You are feeling sorry for me for some reason and I intend to know. Why are you apologizing?" Kirei asked. He was standing so far away yet for some reason, he seemed quite close and his eyes were staring right into her. Louise felt naked suddenly. She recalled the third dream sequence in which the red haired man was extremely flustered being so close to Kirei. Perhaps he also felt so exposed in front of Kirei?

"You cannot feel joy…" Louise said slowly.

"And thus you pitied me, didn't you?" Kirei leered. "Do you know, mistress, that when you pity someone who doesn't…" Kirei suddenly had a coughing fit.

"Are you alright, Kirei?" Louise asked in a concerned voice.

"I am fine. But that cough came out of nowhere." Kirei said, sounding disinterested as always.

The door opened and Kirche and Tabitha entered the room. Louise noticed that Tabitha was not reading her book but was actually staring at Kirei.

"Well, Valliere. It seems that we will meet a month later." Kirche said.

"What do you mean by that Zerbst?" Louise asked suspiciously.

"Well, Miss Seine just told us to tell everyone in the girl's dormitories that the Academy is shutting down for some reason for a month. I came here to tell you this and to say good bye." Kirche said in a matter of fact tone.

"If you have nothing else to say the please leave. Your help has been appreciated." Louise said firmly. Kirche frowned but stepped out of the room. Tabitha gave Kirei a hard stare before leaving as well.

"That was surprising. She usually doesn't get involved so much in my affairs except to mock me." Louise observed.

"Zerbst was simply trying to distract us with her talking. It was the other girl who came here with a purpose." Kirei said.

"What? Tabitha? Why?" Louise said in a bewildered tone.

"I don't know. But she was staring at me with a searching expression. Whatever she was looking for, apparently, she didn't find it." Kirei surmised. Louise stared at him, feeling a little troubled.

"You pack my luggage while I go and confirm whether this news is true at all from someone from the teaching staff." She said. Kirei blinked then began to gather her paraphernalia. Louise wore her shoes and went out of her room.

She later returned and found Kirei having finished packing all of her luggage.

"I have managed to order a carriage for the Valliere estate. We shall leave at dawn." Louise said. Kirei nodded and settled down into the hay to sleep. Louise climbed into her bed. She lay awake for a moment, thinking of whether she would have another dream sequence about Kirei at all. She was having conflicting feelings about Kirei. At one hand, he had been nothing but loyal, polite and helpful. On the other hand, he had come close to being terrifying. She shivered slightly. She would be sure to talk with her elder sister Catteleya on this matter.

The pinkette drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kirei once again found himself in his old room inside the Kotomine Church. Archer was once again lying on the sofa.

"Ah here you are, Ki…grrghkk!" The blond king found himself cut off by Kirei lifting him from his neck.

"As I thought, you are not a figment of my imagination. You are an entire entity invading my mind." Kirei observed.

The blond man stopped squirming and suddenly smiled.

"As to be expected from such a man like you. You are so devoid of emotion and drive that you immediately recognize mental interference." The thing smiled. Kirei set him down.

"What are you?" He asked bluntly.

"I am not a person, as you can infer. I am more like a complex system designed to change your mind set to be more loyal, more courageous and more daring for the sake of the Void mage you are associated with. I am the familiar system founded by the Founder Brimir. I am the Left Hand of God. I am the true essence of the GANDALFR." The bland man answered.

"I see. No wonder I choked when I tried to break Louise's mind. You mentally prevented me from saying anything that might hurt her." Kirei observed. GANDALFR shrugged.

"Not quite. I would have stopped you from even having thoughts against your mistress. However, I found you to be a rather challenging individual to change. You are such an empty man so I thought…"

"A system like you can think?"

"Do not underestimate the power of the Founder, Kirei. His constructs are well beyond your pathetic mind. Yes, I can think. And I thought that directly changing your mind would be effective enough. However I immediately faced a dead end so I assumed this form in your mind to persuade you."

"Indeed? I wonder why? And I recall you appearing in my mind before Louise had even made me her familiar."

"The runes and the contract only bestow the power of the Left Hand. The persuasion required for you to accept the contract appears as soon as you were summoned."

"No wonder I found your appearance strange. The real Gilgamesh would have never persuaded me to accept such a position without rubbing in the fact that it was a position only worthy of a mongrel like me."

"Well, it isn't. The position as the Left Hand is one worth dying for. Although I cannot understand how and why such a man like you qualified as so to take it."

"It is a mystery to me as well. I come from a land where there are many who qualify to take this role. Certainly, that Emiya would fit the bill for this."

"Perhaps you are right. But that is not the meat of the matter."

"How would you know? Oh, I see. You have been reviewing my memories."

"Indeed I have. Now, the meat of the matter is that you cannot wish harm on your mistress. You cannot break the bond between her and you without dying at least."

"Very well. So the requirement to break the bond requires my death?"

"Indeed, that is so."

"Then I suppose I shall have to comply for the time being."

"For the time being? Mortal, you speak as if you have a chance to escape."

"I do have a chance. And if a system like you can think then I suggest that you start thinking of a way to keep me subdued because I do not believe my resistance or death works in your favor. Because once I break free, I shall kill Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"To see her mother's misery."

_**Whew! Took me long enough. Please give me lots of reviews for this chapter because I had to cut my time from exams preparation to write this. I am sorry there is not enough Kirche, Tabitha, Colbert, Osmond, Fouquet, Cesare, Vittorio or Montmorency in it. I just selfishly threw in the Band of Falcons, Gagnon and Honore inside, not to mention GANDALFR. I will try to make up for it later.**_

_**On the flip side, no more narrator comments!... For now. And by the way, why the hell did I get only 18 reviews on chapter 7? Give me a hundred on this one! Kick logic to the curb yada yada yada... Just gimme reviews!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine: In which the author tries reading the original Familiar of Zero canon but gives up due to the sheer stupidity displayed in it. From now one, I am making the rules of this universe! Mwahahahahaha…. Cough…cough…**_

Guiche stared at the length of rope in frustration. He had been trying to make a rabbit snare for some time but the rope proved to be too lax every time he set the trap. John had shown him how to set one and then proceeded to watch him struggle with that six arm-lengths long piece of rope. Guiche had, as of up till now, set the snare thrice and still failed. He had, however, thrown away any thought of giving up simply out of stubborn pride. The purpose of this snare setting wasn't just because of pride though. Every third day, the Band of Falcons set rabbit snares to gather food or foraged for some other source. Every man earned his keep and Guiche intended to follow the pattern.

Except that he was failing brilliantly. His beautiful hands were sporting some rope burns already. If he still would have been in school, a de Gramont, he would have been brewing a storm and applying some ointment or poultice on to his ruined palms. Currently, he was just focused on tying the knot perfectly, not bothering to look at his hands at all. He set up the entire snare and tested the rope. It was still too lax. Guiche sighed in frustration as he began to untie the rope.

"You're dead."

Guiche turned around, frowning, and saw Remy leaning against a tree trunk and smirking. Guiche briefly wondered whether Remy's protruding eye teeth and narrow jaws gave people the impression of a villain. Pushing the stray thoughts out of his head, he opened his mouth.

"What do you mean by that?" He demanded. Guiche was answered by someone tackling him from the back and knocking him down.

"By that…" Lind spoke.

"…He meant this." Lars finished. Before the two could continue, they were showered by a hail of dirt. Verdandi the Mole had loyally defended her master to the best of her abilities. Guiche got up, Lind's weight no longer pinning him down. He stared at the two redheads, still somewhat dazed by the tackle. Verdandi waddled out in front of Guiche and bristled silently at the two when they got up.

"Ah, hide behind your fracking rat, won't you? As to be expected." Remy sneered. Guiche frowned silently before turning to Verdandi and looking at her in the eye.

"Verdandi, you must not come to help me right now." Verdandi looked confused so Guiche repeated it once more before turning to the redheads.

And got punched squarely in the face by either Lind or Lars. He couldn't tell who had hit him. They hadn't even given him time to ready himself and were already kicking him repeatedly while he struggled to get up.

"Not too hard now. We don't want him to be too damaged, do we?" Remy said. Verdandi trembled but obediently did not help her master. Guiche silently bore all the pain, because that was all he could do.

Lars and Lind backed away, allowing Guiche to get up. The young blond stood up. Surprisingly, the two really had held back their strength. He was sure they could have kicked him harder but he wasn't feeling much pain. One the other hand, his face really stung like mad. His eyes were flowing with tears of pain and the world seemed to swim before him. He hastily tried to brush them away, not wanting to show the others weakness.

"Again." Remy coldly commanded. Guiche readied himself and tried to defend himself with little to no success. He was tackled to the ground and the one who had done so twisted his arm behind his back. He got up a few moments later. Guiche vaguely understood that somehow, Remy didn't want him too hurt but rather humiliate him.

But Remy didn't know that he was not trying to bully a cowardly young nobleman who would resort to underhanded tactics. It had been four days only but enough had happened in those four days to entirely change the boy named Guiche. He would not give up.

He would not allow another man to humiliate him again.

And yet for every time he rose, he was knocked flat on his back. It was only the thought of Katie and Montmorency that made Guiche get up. It was only the thought of killing Kirei that made him immune to the pain. It was only his pride as a man that made him move forward.

Only to get punched in the face.

"You can hit below the belt you know." Remy suggested delicately. Guiche glared at him.

"And how will that help me?" he spat out blood as he rasped. Apparently, he had accidentally bitten his cheek when he punched recently. Remy shrugged as if the answer was obvious.

"Help you win." He answered. Guiche staggered to his feet. His legs felt weak. The combined effect of all the hits he had sustained were making him feel as if he had once again drank the 150 year old wine in his father's cellar. Finally his legs gave away and he sank against a tree trunk, all feeling lost in his feet. He closed his eyes briefly.

"Ya cannae slip 'ere, Guiche, enless ya wanna ketch a cold." Guiche heard John's voice. He sounded unusually firm. Guiche opened his eyes to see the bulky man standing in front of him, hands placed on his hips. The six arm-lengths of rope he had given him previously were lung over his shoulder. He was frowning for some reason. Guiche blearily shifted his head and groaned. He subconsciously noted that it was already midday.

"Come in an' eat yer food." John said as he stuck out a helping hand. Guiche ignored it and using the tree trunk for support, struggled to his feet. After that, he made himself walk to the cave through sheer willpower alone. Lars and Lind might have landed softer blows but Guiche still was a former noble man. His body wasn't as resilient as theirs. All he had in his arsenal was determination.

All he could do was endure and try to adapt.

* * *

Karin Desiree de La Valliere was a blunt woman who held on to traditional values quite firmly. This was in direct contrast with the fact that she was the first ever woman in the Manticore Corps and a commander to boot. As the Heavy Wind, half of Halkigenia was terrified of her. The other half consisted of people who were confident of their strength like Colbert and Osmond, were foolishly confident of their own strength like several thousand virile mage knights all over Halkigenia, didn't even know who she was like several thousand women who idealized her as the perfect groom a lady could have and a single individual who didn't care at all who also happened to be her daughter's familiar.

Karin lay on her bed. It was midnight yet sleep didn't come easily. The old pinkette tossed and turned restlessly on the large mattress as all the previous events ever since her arrival played in her head. The day before, Gagnon had broken down in front of her. She still couldn't understand why would a former Manticore Knight show such a torrent of emotions in front of her. She had seen several knight from her Corps who had went on sorties and returned with their entire bands slaughtered and yet never turned a hair. Gagnon himself had lost his aide to musket fire of all things. Karin had lost three lieutenants during the war when she was barely sixteen.

So why was he acting like so now? It made no sense to Karin. Especially considering that his daughter was a bastard to begin with. A Manticore Knight shedding tears for a daughter born out of wedlock was scandalous. To do so in front of her was even more so.

Karin turned to her other side. Bedivere grunted in the background. She felt uneasy since for quite some time, people had been acting quite differently around her. Honore de Gramont and his scandalous brother, Auguste Gagnon and his illegitimate daughter, her daughter and her human familiar.

Why was Honore de Gramont so cowardly? Why did he not show the correct response? Why was he so willing to surrender?

Why was that brother of Honore's so adamant in his belief that Louise's familiar was the murderer? That foolish bastard had committed suicide, hadn't she?

Why was her daughter so terrified of her despite not doing anything wrong? Why was she so afraid of her?

Why was her daughter's familiar so uninterested in combat? Surely, if he was good combatant, and Karin could tell that he was, why was he not intent on proving his strength? And to further complicate matters, how could a mage like him not be proud of his magic?

Karin sat up. She couldn't sleep at all so she might as well practice her swords play. She got out of bed and unsheathed her blade. Bedivere opened his eyes partially when he heard his mistress's footsteps and upon seeing her carrying the blade, automatically got up and moved into the corner of the room, giving Karin enough room for footwork and practice.

Karin thrust her sword at an imaginary opponent. Even her meeting with Henrietta hadn't been one without surprises.

"Your majesty, I would like to thank you for meeting me on such short notice." Karin had said when she had gained royal audience inside the court, bowing low with her helmet under her arm. It was slightly against decorum for her to do so since she was supposed to courtesy like a lady instead of bowing like a man. However, since she was wearing her armor, a courtesy would be impossible to perform. She didn't exactly have a skirt on her person at the moment, just metallic armor.

"Please raise your head, Aunt Karin. No need to be so formal." Henrietta had said good-naturedly. She had been immediately shot down by Karin's cold glare.

"There is every need to be formal, Princess Henrietta. You are a princess and a regent of Tristain. I am just a duchess and a soldier of Tristain. There is no need to address me so informally." She had said.

Karin performed several dozen sword strokes. She had to admit that despite receiving such a scolding, Henrietta had not stopped smiling. While the few other who had been present in the court had been horrified, she had bravely continued.

"Well if you insist, Lady Karin. What requires you to request an audience with me and Cardinal Mazarin?" Henrietta said, using proper language this time.

"The matter that I wish to discuss with the two of you is of a highly sensitive matter which should not reach the ears of others." Karin said. A few people in the court had the gall to murmur. Henrietta had stopped the annoying sound simply by waving a hand and then dismissing them. She rose from throne and walked out of the courtroom with Karin and the Cardinal following her. She led them to a much smaller room. Before entering, she motioned to someone.

Karin performed several slashing moves, being careful not to damage anything inside the room. That girl was quite remarkable. Karin could have heard her breathing due to her affinity with the Wind element but had been unable to see her. She could only broadly determine where she hiding the entire time. That woman called Agnes was a remarkable soldier if she did say so herself.

"Agnes, please don't let anyone come near this room. We need some privacy." Henrietta had smiled. The other woman slammed her fist against her chest.

"As you wish, your Majesty." She had said. Karin didn't see what measures she took to ensure their privacy since she had gone inside the room as soon Henrietta had entered. But she was quite sure that a woman like her could have taken some decent measures.

Bedivere grunted once again as Karin sheathed her sword once more. She had worked up quite a sweat due to all the swords work. She sat down on the chair beside the hearth and stared at the still glowing embers. It had been quite strange room as well. It seemed to be some sort of room for storing heirlooms and treasures since it contained many figurines of owls and foxes, vases, portraits, tapestries depicting various scenes of life and old furniture. A jeweled statuette of a dragon had especially caught her attention due it being almost too life like. Even now, Karin wondered whether it had been carved out of magic.

"Well, Lady Karin? What is this matter of secrecy that you require to discuss in such secrecy?" Henrietta smiled. Mazarin shifted his weight in his chair, looking mildly interested as well. Karin had cleared her throat.

"Your majesty and your eminence, I believe that my daughter, Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere, is a Bearer of the Void." She enunciated clearly. The silence that followed was not unlike the silence before a battle. Henrietta actually frowned. Mazarin looked thunderstruck.

"Your Grace, are you within possession of your wits? What heresy are you speaking?" Mazarin whispered. Even if he was facing the Heavy Wind, a man of God was a man of God. It would be wrong of him not chide her.

"I am speaking what I know of, nothing more and nothing less. My daughter might be a bearer of the Void. She completed the Holy Spring Time Summoning Ritual any by the grace of the Founder, received a human familiar." Karin explained. Mazarin's expression had softened to a degree but he still looked skeptical. Henrietta looked as if she was eating each and every word Karin spoke.

"A human familiar? Well that is most certainly unusual." Mazarin murmured in a bemused tone.

"Indeed, your Eminence. My daughter made a contract with it…" Karin said but was interrupted.

"It?" She asked in a confused voice.

"Is there a problem, your Majesty?"

"I was under the impression that the familiar was human?"

"Yes, my daughter's familiar is a male human."

"Then shouldn't you refer him as 'he', Lady Karin?"

"It is a familiar before being a human. A familiar is defined by the master it is bound to."

Henrietta had looked at Karin with a strange expression as if she was pained by something but she did not press the matter. Really, Karin was confused by all the people around her. Was the world going mad? People used to make so much sense when she was a little girl like Louise. Familiars were familiars back then.

"As I was saying, my daughter made a contract with it and most astonishingly, runes appeared on the back of his hands."

Cardinal Mazarin sat up in excitement, his expression suddenly quite sharp.

"Which hand?" he asked.

"The left. They appeared on the back."

"Ah, if your daughter truly is a bearer of the Void then her familiar must be…" Mazarin said.

"The Gandalfr." Henrietta finished. Karin nodded.

"That is precisely what Colbert believes." Karin said. The Cardinal and the Princess looked at her with some confusion.

"Who is he?" Cardinal Mazarin asked.

"He is a teacher at the Tristain Academy. He teaches fire magic." Karin briefly said. The two had nodded briefly, not knowing how powerful man he was.

It was no wonder that no one knew Colbert as the Flame Snake as much as they knew her as the Heavy Wind. It was simply because while Karin had been a Manticore Knight, he had been part of the Magical Research Hunting Platoon. While she had been a front line fighter and follower of the code of chivalry and honor, Colbert had been a remorseless killer who performed necessary evil. While she was a famed knight, he was a nameless mage. It was quite anticlimactic of Colbert to finish life as a nameless teacher in Karin's opinion.

"Ah so this Colbert is well versed in theology and history then, I assume?" Mazarin asked. Karin considered the question carefully.

"To my knowledge, he displays an above average knowledge of that subject. The Headmaster of the Academy certainly believes in him."

Karin had been quite surprised by Cardinal Mazarin's next words.

"Ah well, if Osmond has faith in him then I believe that the matter must have enough evidence for us to look into it." Mazarin said. Both Karin and Henrietta looked at the old man with surprise.

"You know that perverted old man?" Karin said bluntly.

"Lady Karin! Your language!" Henrietta said, horrified by her coarse words. The cardinal once again surprised the two women by chuckling richly.

"Those are the least offensive words I have ever heard being used to describe them although I am not going to repeat the opinions of others in her majesty's presence. Although as Lady Karin so eloquently put, I know that 'perverted old man' quite well although I don't suppose he remembers me. He was the best student in our class and the most popular and handsome one as well. Not to mention the fact Osmond knew the girls of our class quite well." Mazarin said, chuckling at his last sentence as if it was a joke only he could appreciate. Then he abruptly became serious again.

"Duchess de La Valliere, I, Mazarin de Lorraine, accept your plea for an inquisition as the Cardinal of Tristain. I will the summons to Osmond and this Colbert person. I cannot give you an immediate date when it shall be held. But I will establish one as early as possible."Mazarin grandly declared in his soft voice.

Karin had been quite surprised at Henrietta's reaction.

"Your Eminence, are you sure that is wise?" she said sharply.

"I understand your fear, you Majesty. However, rest assured that I will do everything within my power to ensure her innocence and recognition by the church." Mazarin said in his sift voice. Henrietta's expression had not changed and for a moment, she resembled her mother when she had been active in the court.

"We have the Founder's Prayer Book. We could simply use that to confirm. If we put her through an inquest, who knows what will happen?" Henrietta said.

"Your Majesty, what could possibly go wrong?" Mazarin asked gently.

"Everything!" Henrietta retorted. She took a deep breath and then opened her eyes, her steelish resolve flashing. "Your Eminence, I dislike bringing this up but you have now begged to prove the point. Your main weakness is that you understand nothing about politics! Now, that is not a bad thing but do you not see the consequences of your actions?"

"I fail to see what would be wrong if we conducted an inquest for Lady Karin's daughter." Mazarin frostily said, the gentle voice hardening.

"And therein lies the fault. Cardinal Mazarin, do you realize how badly you insulted the Holy Conclave and the Romalian College when you turned down the papacy for the sake of Tristain? Or the fact that certain nobles hate you because you treat commoners better than them?" Henrietta said, her tone suddenly becoming gentler. It was as if she trying to condone the Cardinal for something that wasn't wrong.

"I fail to see what is wrong with serving the Crown." Karin put in bluntly.

"As do I. I see no fault in what you blame me for." Mazarin said defiantly.

"Your Eminence, your loyalty and integrity are the very reasons I trust you. But sadly, you know nothing about politics. Your refusal of papacy made many cardinals unhappy since they had gone to several lengths for your sake. Now, if you will head the inquisition, all the cardinals from Romalia who will attend will be biased against you simply because of that incident. In their blind hate, they might turn the court in their favor and pronounce Louise as a heretic." Henrietta pointed out.

"Why would they do that? Simply because of a grudge like this, they shall perform such abhorrent deeds?" Karin asked.

"Your Majesty! Please do be respectful of men of the cloth! They were made Cardinals for a very good reason…"

"Yes, quite rich reasons, I am sure." Henrietta said cynically.

"…And therefore I trust in their judgment to do what is right!" Mazarin ended his sentence. He looked down right furious by now while Henrietta looked extremely tired suddenly. Karin was quite confused at that time and she still was. All that arguing simply over the simple matter of a trial. She sometimes thought that they were a waste of time anyways. All that talk usually ended up with nothing. And then the burned the accused anyways. They could simply skip all the meaningless chatter and burn the accused if that was how it worked.

Bedivere suddenly woke up and yawned. He stretched his wings and arched his back as much as the space in the room allowed him to do so. Seeing Bedivere's actions, Karin realized that it was dawn already and spread the curtains.

There was a knock on the door. After getting Karin's permission to enter, the maid carried the breakfast tray in and set it on the table and went out. Karin preferred eating at the crack of dawn as a reminder of her years as a Knight. She walked over to the table and then frowned. Along with the usual food, there was also a letter on the tray.

A sealed letter with the Manticore Corps insignia stamped on the wax that kept the folded piece of parchment closed. Karin frowned slightly before she smashed the seal apart by driving the butt of a silver spoon from the tray. She unfolded the parchment. There were a single sentence written inside.

'Break off your daughter's engagement. Gagnon.'

* * *

Jean Colbert was a genius. He was a square class mage with a mastery in both Fire and Earth Magic. He had the ability to bring out the best of whatever magical talent his students usually had. He was one of the best people a person could find.

And right now, he was in an extremely bad mood.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HOLIDAY?" The bald mage yelled at his superior. It was early morning. The first rays of the suns were just appearing from the horizon.

"Well, I just realized that after a period of stressful activity like the disownment of a young noble, it is necessary for one to have a good long rest, a month or two long preferably." Osmond said, smoking his pipe nonchalantly. He then carelessly blew several rings in the air. Colbert took a deep and shuddering breath while he closed his eyes. He opened them once more, looking noticeably calmer than before.

"I went to sleep yesterday without knowing that a holiday has been declared. I wake up to see the entire dining hall completely empty. Not only that, it seemed that everyone was in such a hurry to run away that the entire school seemed to have left as soon as you declared an official holiday. You could have at least performed the courtesy of informing me." He said in an even voice.

"The reason I did not want to tell you that particular piece of information was because I wanted to be alone with you." Osmond said with a completely straight face. For a moment, Colbert felt as if time itself had stopped.

"Why?" he rasped, his throat suddenly gone dry due to Osmond's words.

"I am confident that my secretary Miss Longueville is actually the thief known as Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt. Everyone did not actually leave immediately. I hired transportation and had them shipped off home forcibly just so that the school would be empty for Fouquet to make her move. Not that they minded, of course. They were actually happy to oblige, all staff, teachers and students. The school being virtually empty means that both of us would be able to deal with Fouquet by catching her off guard and not worry about the causalities that might occur due to our actions. And we better catch her because she is the only way I can refund all the money I spent on hiring all those coaches!" Osmond said. Colbert stared the old man with a look of incredulousness.

"That was actually quite brilliant." He muttered to himself.

"You're welcome." Osmond chuckled. Colbert fumed, forgetting that as a Wind mage, Osmond's hearing was sharper than his even at such an age.

"By the way, what gave away her identity? How did you discover it?" Colbert asked.

"Dear Colbert, what wasn't there that gave her away? She begged me to hire her as his secretary even though she was a square class Earth mage! At the very least she could have asked for a teaching position. And the fact that her familiar is a small mole as well! And most of all, in case you haven't noticed, Colbert, SHE HAS GREEN HAIR!" Osmond said, dramatically waving his arm about.

"All that I deduced some time ago. What I am surprised about is that you actually do have some common sense amongst all those perverted thoughts in that thick skull of yours." Colbert said flatly.

"You wound me, Colbert!" Osmond said dramatically once more.

"And I shall do so again unless you explain how we are going to deal with Fouquet." Colbert said in an annoyed voice.

"It is quite simple. I shall murder you and then steal the staff of destruction." Miss Longueville said. Both Osmond and Colbert jumped out of their skins when they heard her voice. The green haired woman was standing in the office's doorway and was smiling in a rather vain manner. A few seconds later, two golems, nearly five arm-lengths tall, smashed open the walls besides the door way and entered the office.

"I have to admit, I never expected you to actually have a working brain in your head, you dirty old man. You actually managed to realize who I am! Somebody should give you a medal for this!" The green haired woman said in a satirical tone. With a swift motion, the nearest golem swatted Colbert away before he could even react, smashing him into a wall. Something broke. It wasn't the wall.

"I swear Miss Longueville, I never had the intention of tying you up and getting you arrested. I only hired you because you have some very interesting real estate. I mean, you have HUGE TRACTS OF LAND!" Osmond declared.

And precisely at that moment, the second golem seemed to explode into clods of dirt and mud.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention that I refused to allow Miss Valliere to leave. You must have met her familiar, haven't you?" Osmond said almost conversationally.

Miss Longueville, or Fouquet more appropriately, backed away in fear from the man standing behind her. The familiar lunged at her with fist drawn. Fouquet was only saved by the sacrifice of her second golem who put itself between the attacking familiar's fist and her.

Fouquet ran towards the window, threw it open and leaped out without hesitance. Osmond's eye widened when he realized what Fouquet's leap could have meant.

"Get back!" He yelled at Miss Valliere's familiar. He used his staff to summon the wind which pulled Colbert's unconscious form to the far end of the room. And a fraction of a moment later, a gigantic earthen fist smashed inside the office.

"YOU ARE ONE ANNOYING PERVERT, OSMOND!" Fouquet shrieked.

"I LOVE YOU TOO, MISS LONGUEVILLE!" Osmond yelled back just as loudly. And the quickly began chanting.

The earthen fist punched through whatever remained of the wall a second time.

"WIND SPEAR!" Osmond roared, pointing his staff at the golem's hand. A terrific jet of wind erupted from the end of his staff and hit the golem's fist. Instead of smashing it into dust, the magical attack cut the arm from the middle finger's knuckle up to the golem's shoulder. The outer half of the arm fell away while the remaining half crumbled under its own weight.

Before Osmond or Fouquet could even react, the familiar suddenly dashed out of the window and leaped. There was the sound of another feminine shriek. Osmond hurried over to the hole in the wall and looked outside.

* * *

Before the events that had transpired in which they ended up with him leaping out to capture or kill a female Earth mage riding a golem of some sort, Kirei had been having very wonderful dream. Namely one in which he tried to bring out answers from GANDALFR.

He had gone to sleep and found himself in a completely different landscape. And endless plain of grass stretched before him as far as his eye could see. A mountain range clouded in mist loomed in the horizon. The sky was tinged a light blue color. Kirei estimated the time to be something around a little after dawn.

A girl stood before him. A blonde girl with pointed ears. Kirei stared at her for some moments before realizing who she was.

"GANDALFR." He stated simply.

"Indeed, it is I, Kotomine Kirei. For some reason, you have once again subconsciously summoned me in the dreamscape. So I ask of you, what is it that you want?" GANDALFR asked.

Kirei noted that it had used his full name in the proper Japanese method. So it seemed that the system had once again delved into his memories.

"I want to know a few things." Kirei asked.

"You are permitted to ask but do not expect any answers." GANDLAFR replied.

"Why was this system designed in the first place?" Kirei asked, disregarding GANDALFR's answer. The system remained silent for a moment.

"That is a question that can be answered. The Founder originally designed this system to eliminate the Elves." It answered.

"How many systems are out there?"

"Several more."

"Can you tell me their names?"

"Yes."

There was a period of silence during which Kirei waited for an answer but GANDALFR did not speak at all.

"Will you?"

"No."

"I see. Is there a good reason for you to withhold such information?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me this information?"

"No."

"Is there a good reason for not telling me the answer to my previous question?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me that?"

"No."

"I see. That means that the knowledge about this system is cause enough for the familiar to rebel against it."

"I never said that."

"Then is there any other reason?"

Kirei took GANDALFR's silence as a small victory. Despite not being so forthcoming, he had managed to deduce something vitally important.

"Does the entire system somehow threaten the lives of the familiars?"

"Simply being alive means that you will die one day, mortal. The system threatens the life of the familiars as much as life itself does."

Kirei fell silent for a moment.

"I am the current Gandalfr, correct?"

"Yes."

"And what is the power of the Gandalfr?"

GANDALFR thought for a while.

"The ability to wield any weapon."

"And Gandalfr means the Left Hand of God, correct?"

"Yes."

"So does that mean that the Right Hand also exist?"

There was another of moment of silence while GANDALFR remained quiet.

"Yes." It finally answered. It seemed that it had decided that if he correctly deduced the answer then it had no compunction in confirming his idea.

"And does the power it wield the ability to control magic?"

"No."

"Is there a system that involves such a power?"

Once again, GANDALFR became silent as it contemplated.

"Yes."

"Then this means that there are at least three familiars in this system."

"What makes you say that?"

"You. You just gave me the vital information."

GANDALFR remained silent for a long while. Finally it spoke.

"It seems that once again, the summoning did not choose an incorrect candidate."

"Your praise is hollow." Kirei pointed out. His eyes gleamed. He had somehow managed to make an ancient system angry. Even if it had no emotion to show, it was definitely angry at him. Kirei relapsed into silence.

"The system is an elaborate and dangerous magical ritual."

"What makes you say that?"

"It has at least three or more familiars involved in it. It will be used to eliminate an entire race. It is potentially dangerous enough for you to withhold information about it. One of the powers it grants to the familiar of the ability to wield weapons. Another is to control magic. Ergo, one familiar initiates a ritual while the other defends it."

Kirei once again relapsed into silence.

"What is the power source of this ritual?"

"The Power of the Void provides the power of the ritual."

Kirei looked a little down cast. It seemed that it was not the answer he was expecting.

"Does the ritual involve a familiar dying?"

"What makes you say that?"

"What other incentive to rebel? Every living being values his life more than others."

"Except for Emiya Kiritsugu and Emiya Shirou."

"They are exceptions to the rule. Not everyone can be like them. Most of humanity is sane."

There was a brief pause.

"Was my guess correct?"

"Yes."

"I see. Why did you divulge information so quickly? Why did you not lie?"

"The Founder felt guilty about the creation of his system therefore he added the corollary that if a familiar could deduce the answers correctly, he would be answered truthfully on that matter. He believed that the familiars had the right to know if they discovered it."

Kirei remained silent. He now knew a good deal about this system created by the Founder. He thought whether he should try to poking some more answers out of the system which stood in front of him.

"Where are we?"

"Inside your mind."

"What does my mind depict?"

"That which you want to see."

"What am I seeing?"

"That which you are seeing."

Kirei looked mildly annoyed. Every single answer he had received was absolutely correct and absolutely true. But they were also absolutely useless. Kirei paused for a moment and constructed the correct sentence in his mind.

"Tell me the name of the location that my mind is currently showing in the form of the landscape we are standing in."

"Halkigenia."

Kirei gritted his teeth. He had thought that he would receive an answer to such an innocent question as knowing the name of the place he was currently standing in but GANDALFR had clammed up for a certain reason. Kirei was guessing that something of great importance happened here in the times of the Founder of Halkigenia' magical system. Kirei stared hard at the land he was standing in, trying to take in the entire scenery. He thought for a moment and began to ask a question.

"Who…"

But he was woken up by an incessant knocking on the door. Kirei blinked. He hadn't expected be woken so early. The window showed him that it wasn't even dawn. Who might it be? Kirei considered all the available options in his list but his list happened to be quite short. The only way to find out who was on the other side was to open the door and see.

It turned out to be a snow bearded man who looked as old as a Dead Apostle. His beard reached his waist and his staff was roughly six feet long.

"Who are you?" Kirei asked bluntly, skipping all formality.

"Ah yes, I believe we were not acquainted before. I am the Headmaster of the Academy, Old Osmond."

"And what brings you here at the dead of the night, Headmaster?"

"First of all, it isn't the dead of the night since dawn is only some time away. Secondly, the reason I am here is because the Academy is going to be attacked by a thief known as Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt and I need your power as the Gandalfr to fight her."

Kirei inspected the old man closely. He wasn't lying and Kirei could tell because Kirei had quite some experience with liars.

"How did you know about my status?" He asked sharply.

"Jean Colbert told me about it after he healed you with his regeneration potion. He believed that you were the Second Coming of the Left Hand. Frankly, I don't believe him but I know enough about you to know that you are a strong fighter if nothing else. You dispatched Guiche de Gramont's golem constructs with ease. Even if you are not the Gandalfr, you naturally wield power on par with a dot class mage and that is good enough in my eyes. I request you to aid me in defeating Fouquet."

"What about Jean Colbert? Shouldn't he help you instead of me?" Kirei asked.

"Ah, that is true but you see, I don't think he would be willing to engage in fighting. He is the kind of a person who would rather use negotiations and avoid needless damage. He is more of a gentle hearted soul now, that Jean Colbert is." Old Osmond. Kirei raised his eyebrows.

"Now? He is more of a gentle hearted soul now? Was he not before?" Kirei asked. Old Osmond suddenly looked wary.

"I never said. Now are you willing to help me or not?"

"I will help you. Allow me to wake my mistress to inform her of the situation." Kirei said. Osmond nodded.

"You do that. I shall be in my office. Your mistress knows where it is. Heavens knows she has visited enough times as it is." The old man said and walked away. Kirei puzzled over the last sentence before dismissing the thought. He had more important things to focus on, like the fact that Osmond had let slip that Colbert had some skeletons to hide. If Kirei could not torment Louise then he would indirectly torment her by destroying all those whom she knew. Besides, if a man had skeletons to hide then exposing them was all the more interesting.

"Mistress, it is time for you to wake up." Kirei said, shaking his mistress with. Instead of waking up, Louise simply grabbed Kirei's arm and snuggled against it.

"Mmm, Sis, your breasts are gone." She murmured in her sleep. The pinkette apparently mistook her familiar's arm for her sister.

The narrator would sadly like to note that the writer was dropped on his head when he was a baby. His comedy is as cheap as Matou Shinji's hair-style.

A normal man would have blushed furiously on having such a contact initiated without the girl being aware. A pervert would have taken advantage of the golden opportunity and tried to explore the land of adventure in every possible manner. A patient man would have waited until the girl would have let go.

Kotomine Kirei was none of the above although he could be quite patient if he wanted to. But now was not the time. Yanking Louise up into a sitting position, he flicked her on the forehead with a force that could have sent a pebble flying several hundred meters. That woke the pinkette without fail.

"What on earth are you doing, you stupid familiar?" She yelled indignantly, grabbing her forehead with both hands. Kirei put a hand to his lips.

"Quiet, mistress. The Headmaster asked me to aid him in subduing and capturing a thief known as Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt. I need you to lead me to the Headmaster's office. No need to dress, just put on your cloak." Kirei said in his usual disinterested voice. Louise looked at him with a bewildered look before recovering her senses and getting out of bed. A few moments later, both mistress and familiar were trotting towards their destination.

Only to see most of the wall around the doorway demolished. The bloodied form of someone lay on the floor while a green haired woman and two earthen golems stood in the middle of the room.

"Mister Colbert!" Louise shrieked in horror. Kirei briefly gazed at his mistress. It seemed that Louise did hold Jean Colbert with some regard. Which meant that exposing whatever secret he had would surely have an effect on Louise. With the thought of a new play in his mind, Kirei dashed forward and punched the golem beside the green haired woman.

The woman's surprise was quite understandable. Kirei had felt some surprising resistance in destroying the doll of mud, much more than in Guiche de Gramont's bronze constructs. For a magical creation to be destroyed so easily with something as mundane as fist was unbelievable.

Kirei briefly wondered what fueled the magic in this universe. It seemed to be some emotion because the rage maddened Guiche's golems were pitifully brittle while this confident woman's dolls were harder.

All these thoughts passed in his mind within the span of a split second. The next moment, he launched himself, his left fist a meteor that would break apart the green haired woman.

The woman jumped backwards and her second golem came between her. Kirei's fist reduced the construct to dust with ease. That confirmed it. This universes magical system was one that was based on willpower or determination. Her second golem had been as easy to destroy as Guiche's. Her surprise had literally shattered her own defenses.

The green haired woman unhesitatingly jumped out of the window as soon as she got the opportunity. Kirei stood still, surprised for a moment. He never knew that the magi of this world would be the type who would engage in something as extreme as that. Had he underestimated them? Or had the green haired woman committed suicide?

"Get back!" Old Osmond yelled as he used his staff to pull back the immobile form of Jean Colbert as well. Seconds later, a gigantic earthen fist smashed its way inside.

"YOU ARE ON ANNOYING PERVERT, OSMOND!" Kirei heard the woman shriek.

"I LOVE YOU TOO, MISS LONGUEVILLE!" The old man responded merrily.

Kirei rolled his eyes. These two were loud enough to give Emiya Shirou a run for his money. Rider would probably enlist them in his army simply because of their lung capacity.

The gigantic fist rammed itself inside a second time.

"WIND SPEAR!" Old Osmond roared. A jet of wind escaped from the end of his staff and hit the golem's hand, effectively destroying most of it. The rest of it crumbled away.

Seeing an opportunity, Kirei dashed forward and leaped out of the building. The golem he was aiming to land on was gigantic, nearly sixty feet tall. He could only hope to land on its shoulder because all other parts of its body seemed to be too brittle to grab onto. He cocked his fist in midair, ready to grind Fouquet's head to dust as soon as he landed.

The wind whistled as the golem swung his arm with a speed that shouldn't belong to a golem as it tried to swat Kirei in midair. The hand connected with Kirei's body.

"You should have been more careful!" Fouquet crowed.

"You're right," Fouquet heard Kirei's voice. The golem looked at the palm of his hand to find Kirei on it, with his right arm buried up to the elbow inside the golem's palm. It instantly became clear to Fouquet what had happened.

Seeing that he would be blown several leagues away by the massive slap, Kirei had punched its palm with all his might. He ended up burying his arm and thus sticking to it.

"Get off my golem!" Fouquet shrieked. The missing arm of the golem suddenly started to reform. Using the newly generated arm, Fouquet prepared to crush Kirei by clapping.

"WIND SPEAR!" Osmond roared once more.

"Fireball!" Kirei heard Louise's voice. The jet of wind severed the arm which was about to crush Kirei. And Louise's spell managed to blow up the shoulder of the arm Kirei was sticking.

"Oh Lord." Kirei muttered as the golem's arm started to fall. Several tons of dirt and mud were going to bury him after a fall of nearly fifty feet.

And he really had been looking forward to discovering Jean Colbert's history.

* * *

The Papal Residence was, as the name properly described, a place for the Pope to stay. It was in the city state of Romalia and at the far side of most of the buildings and establishments in order to give the Pope his well deserved rest. With the Turchino River at its back and lush green courtyards at its front, the Papal Residence seemed like a piece of paradise on earth. In fact, it was rumored that some cardinals desired the papacy simply to live in the residence. The entire structure consisted of four wings staffed by a battalion of butlers and maids, an astronomical observatory, a stable with twenty of the best horses in all of Halkigenia which was manned by an army grooms and stable boys, a well equipped library with nearly 4000 volumes and tomes on various subjects. It was protected by two platoons of Romalian Mage Knights and Priest Knights. In short, it was the best and safest places in Halkigenia a man could be in.

Currently, the man who held the title of Pope found no joy in living in such a garish and stifling mansion. Despite being surrounded by men and women from every direction, Vittorio Serevare had never felt lonelier. Even with Julio Cesare at his side, he felt isolated.

He had entered the Magical Academy of Romalia at the age of fourteen and was immediately rejected by the other children in his class for his apparent 'lack' of talent. To add insult to the injury, they had him dubbed as a playboy who did not take his studies seriously simply because he had a handsome face and could not use conventional magic. He had tried to scrape his way through the first year of studies simply by learning the theory of magic by heart.

He failed.

Furious at his son's failure, his father had disinherited him for being a commoner born of noble parents. Declaring him to be no son of his, his father, who was a blue-blooded bigot, threw him out. Vittorio was fifteen at that time.

The following three years were ironically, the best years of his life. Since he lacked talent in magic, he hadn't dependant on it at all. Therefore, he was able to adapt much faster to the new change in his environment. And the very first thing he had done after escaping the golden cage of nobility was find a band of nomads. Vittorio always wanted to travel through Halkigenia and now he had the opportunity to do so.

Sadly, the nomads turned out to be quite a reclusive group of people. They were openly hostile towards Vittorio and drove him away. Vittorio however, found one single nomad with a black mule. That nomad was Pedro and the mule was Estella.

Pedro had agreed to let Vittorio accompany him. During their travels up to Gallia, Pedro had taken the place of his father and mentor. He had taught him the true meaning of morality, the need to do the right thing and the simple joy in helping people.

He had taught him how to skin a rabbit, how to make a fire, how to bridle Estella and how to play a lute. He had shown him the Great Plains between Romalia and Tristain. He had taken him to the mountain ranges of Navarre. He had visited to the banks of Lake Lagdorian.

And it was there where he had performed Vittorio's first hepatomancy. Vittorio had been quite sick at the sight of seeing a still living ram thrash about with its entrails spilling from his slit belly while Pedro had quietly inspected the guts and then pronounced a reading. Vittorio was a vital piece in the things to come. A vital piece but not the greatest one. He was one of the four that would bear a great power and bring a new age of change for all of human.

Vittorio had told him to go to hell. He had wrestled the knife from Pedro's hands and put the nearly dead ram out of his misery. The great bond of trust between the two of them had been seemingly broken over a single ram. But the truth was deeper than that. Despite being disinherited, Vittorio had remained a staunch believer. He had, however, never paid attention to the fact that Pedro was a pagan. The ram's gutting had caused him to lash out and break the bond between them. The next day, Pedro hadn't called him by name.

He had called him pretty boy.

They returned to Romalia a few weeks later. Where Vittorio was immediately captured by his father's men. Apparently, his mother had fallen ill during his absence and had begged and pleaded to his father to allow him back into the family. His father had finally given in. Vittorio had often wondered whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. On the bright side, he had seen that his seemingly cold and tyrannical father did love his wife.

On the other hand, Vittorio was back in the gilded cage of nobility. He would no longer be Vittorio, he would be known as the commoner born of nobles. Not only that, he had now spent three years free and wild. He had seen the best places of the worlds, had witnessed it at its most colorful and wildest. And now he was back in the dreary world of nobility, politics and bigotry. Even an angry Pedro calling him pretty boy was better than what situation he had found himself in.

Over the next year, Vittorio had learned to adapt once more. He learned to smile convincingly, how to lie in a believable manner, how to make people hang at every word of his. He learned how to dance, how to drink, how to court and how to observe decorum. And he hated every moment of it.

When he had been with Pedro, he could have laughed and run and shouted and screamed and played his lute and petted Estella and skinned rabbits and watched the star and do so much more without restraint. There were no frowning fathers or disapproving nobles or sneering peers. He had been free.

At the end of his eighteenth year, he had accompanied his father in a visit to the College of Cardinals. And there, Vittorio had been unlucky enough to discover the small round mirror that hung on a wall. Vittorio saw some of the worst things the Founder had done. He had been so engrossed in watching the events unfold in the mirror that several cardinals had stopped and noticed his odd behavior. Vittorio was subsequently tried for heresy when he claimed that he had seen certain events in the mirror.

The two weeks he suffered through were much more painful than all the years of bullying he had gone through at the Academy. At least they only restricted themselves to taunts. Here, he was tortured and was forced to confess. Every day he was branded with irons, beaten to an inch of his life, had his bones broken, skin ripped off and nails ripped off. And every day they healed him.

Finally, the cardinals grew tired of the torture and tried to trap him in word play. They tried to find incriminating evidence against him.

They failed.

When he could use the truth he used it like a hammer against them, crushing their arguments. When he had to resort to lies, he used it as a dagger, cutting away the vitals points and letting their argument collapse on themselves. The supposedly two days long trial was now drawn out to another two weeks. The cardinals had grown decidedly uncomfortable since the entire college was being toyed by a callow youth of nineteen. Finally, the trial was halted by a certain Cardinal Breggia.

He had suggested that Vittorio try to use one of the Void magic spells. Before Vittorio could even prepare a counter argument, he produced the Founder's Prayer Book and even brought out a wand for him to use. How had he even managed to procure the Book from the Tristainian Royalty remained a mystery to Vittorio even now.

With the courage of a man who had nothing to lose, Vittorio had made a contract with the wand, confirming it to be his own from then. He had opened the Prayer Book, hoping to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.

The words that had appeared on the book had surprised Vittorio. With some hope forming in his heart, Vittorio had chanted the incantation…

…and gasped along with everyone else when suddenly, a hole in the fabric of reality appeared. There was an entire world out there that was as different as elves were. Carriages without horses screamed on the streets. Men and women roamed around in the strangest attire. A shop of some sort displayed a magical box which in turn showed a black man holding up his hand as if swearing an oath.

Vittorio had cancelled the spell, shocked at having seen such a different world outside. He was deaf to the fact that every single Cardinal present in the room had shouted his name. He had been pardoned, proclaimed innocent and declared the bearer of the Void. None of that mattered to Vittorio Serevare anymore since to his everlasting anger, he had now cemented his place within the nobility by performing magic.

He had been elected Pope later after Cardinal Mazarin voluntarily stepped down. Vittorio was just thankful that Mazarin had not done so out of respect for him but had done it out of loyalty to Tristain. He had summoned Julio a week after becoming the Pope, inside the Papal Residence. He found having a human familiar especially disgusting since he was basically stealing the freedom of a Priest Knight.

And right now, he was waiting for someone inside his room. He was all alone inside his sleeping chamber and staring at the window.

There was a tap on the window. A jeweled owl of some sort was perched outside the window, using its beak to tap the glass. Vittorio hastily got up and opened the window. The owl hopped in. It was an alviss construct that were sometimes used in plays and shows. But this alviss was quite different. For one it was jeweled. For another, it had glowing purple runes in its eyes.

"Well, Myozunitonirun? What of the news?" He asked. There was a pause after which a woman's voice came from the other end.

"So hasty, Your Holiness. Shouldn't you learn patience once in a while?"

"I have not the time to do so. Speak!"

There was another pause.

"I have found the Gandalfr."

"Indeed." Vittorio said as he sat up straight. "Who is his master?"

"His Mistress is a small girl named Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere. She apparently does not know about her role as a Void bearer. Her familiar is a tall commoner with brown hair. He is an exceptionally skilled combatant. So much so that he was able to defeat a dot class mage without resorting to the power of the Gandalfr."

Vittorio paused. A commoner able to defeat a mage purely through combat skill? As much as Vittorio enjoyed the idea of it existing, it was simply impossible. No commoner was able to defeat a magus purely through skill of arms or fighting talent. It was just too unrealistic.

"Are you sure you gathered your information correctly? It seems to be impossible for commoner to defeat a mage purely through skill." Vittorio asked.

"I was skeptical as well. However, both of my spies witnessed the fight between the two. The Gandalfr managed to destroy the golems created by the mage purely through the force of his fists. My Master's own chevalier confirmed the fact that she detected no usage or activation of magic by the Gandalfr."

Vittorio frowned. This was slightly troubling news but it could be dealt with later.

"Is there anything else I should be warned about?"

"None for now."

"Very well then. You are dismissed."

"Be on your guard, Your Holiness. Great changes are about to come."

Vittorio did not like the tone which the Myozunitonirun had used. He silently let the alviss out, closed the window and went to bed.

* * *

Henrietta clasped her temples in her hands. It was barely the start of the morning and yet she already was suffering from a headache. Sometimes she wondered whether it would be too petty of her to burn all those fairy tales which depicted royal life as easy and luxurious. She had grown up having those stories being read to her and Louise. She always thought that she would grow to be wedded to her ideal prince and live happily ever after. As she grew up, she had developed a one sided love for distant cousin, Wales Tudor, the Prince of Albion. He had gently let her down but Henrietta's love for him had never truly died. It still smoldered in her chest and she kept it alive in hopes of Wales reciprocating her love one day.

Quite unfortunately, the death of her father set things in turmoil. Her mother proved too distraught to rule. She was too young to be the regent. It was Cardinal Mazarin who had bravely thrown away all chances of Papacy for the sake of Tristain and returned to stabilize it. Even now, Henrietta would have been willing to leave all the things to him and run away to Albion. Although knowing Mazarin, he would do everything in her power to bring her back. Besides, she couldn't do that. The old man of the cloth had spent his life in service to both God and the Crown. It would be very ungrateful of her to once again push the duties of the state on his aged shoulders.

But then again, the cardinal had shown her his naïve side yesterday. He had proposed an inquest of all things to prove Louise's status as a Void bearer. Of all the things he could have done, this was possibly the most foolhardy. Didn't he know that they tortured heretics for confessions? Granted, it was a necessary evil for the sake of keeping the church together and preventing it from breaking apart but in the end it was an evil. Henrietta was adamant on not allowing Louise go through an inquest without establishing concrete and undeniable proof. She would need the Founder's Prayer Book. It had served a crucial turning point of the Trial of Vittorio Serevare, the current Pope and bearer of the title off St. Aegis the 32nd. It could serve such a purpose once again.

The door opened with an almighty crash. Henrietta looked up with a gasp, accidentally spilling ink on important documents of the state.

"Your Majesty! An Albionian Warship has been spotted over the horizon!" Agnes yelled. Henrietta immediately stood up.

"How does it look? Is it damaged? How many others?" She asked sharply.

"It is quite damaged. There is only one." Agnes answered.

"Ceasefire. Do not allow anyone to use force against it unless it is established as a threat. Send a regiment of Dragon Knights to receive it." Henrietta ordered.

"At once." Agnes said and rushed off. Several maids scurried in the room after Henrietta called for them, dressing her in her travelling clothes. As soon as she was garbed in the appropriate attire, Henrietta rushed out of her room and out of the palace. She found the palace grounds to be full of people who were milling around like ants. Agnes marched up to her and stood beside her protectively.

"What happened?" Henrietta asked, bewildered at the activity in the court. The people were so flustered that no one was paying attention to the fact that she was standing among them.

"According to the Dragon Knights who were escorting it before, it seems that the ship is carrying Prince Wales and he wants to land in the courtyard. No reason was given why. Since the airship is just a corvette and thus can land safely in the courtyard, Captain Gagnon allowed its landing in your absence of authority." Agnes answered. Henrietta nodded. Captain Gagnon had been praised by Aunt Karin for his good conduct therefore he had been appointed as the Captain of the Royal Guards. So far, he hadn't disappointed them.

After some time, a large shadow fell across the ground as the flying corvette clumsily arrived. Henrietta's eyes widened at the sight of all the damage it had sustained. The whole ship seemed to be holding itself together simply on prayers. There were more holes in the ship than there was wood. Only the main mast remained standing while the others were missing. Smoke rose from the deck although it seemed that nothing was actually burning. Not anymore anyways.

The corvette somehow managed to land in a place that was never designed for a corvette to land. It leaned on its side as soon as it set itself on the ground. Almost immediately after landing, several dozen Tristainian soldiers brought several wooden poles which were placed in the ship's side and served as an impromptu gang plank. Albionian soldiers started to climb over the deck and down the pole bridge. Henrietta hurried forward as she recognized a familiar figure emerge.

"Wales!" Henrietta called out worriedly. The Tristainian soldiers noticed their princess and respectfully gave way for her. Henrietta rushed over to her cousin who was surrounded by his heavily injured soldiers. He himself looked fine albeit very troubled.

"What are you all waiting for, you dolts? Get the men medical attention! Move your useless legs, you sorry lot!" Henrietta heard Karin bark. It was expected of her to be here. She perfectly suited the environment. The people around her bustled back to life as water mages hurried forward and stretchers were suddenly brought out of nowhere. She turned to face Wales.

"Wales, what happened?" She asked worriedly. From the tail of her eyes, she noticed Karin, Gagnon and Agnes staring intently at the two of them.

"I bear bad news, Henrietta. A group named Reconquista have succeeded in overthrowing my reign. Albion has fallen to the masses. They mean to take Tristain as well." Wales said in a solemn tone. Henrietta paled. A war had been ignited.

_**And that is that. Seriously you wouldn't believe how long it took me to write this! (13 constant hours of nonstop typing). And it is the longest one as of yet. I pat myself on the back. Good job, Leo Novum! You truly are a mediocre writer who deserves sympathy for deluding himself into believing that he writes good fanfiction!**_

_**Well if it brings you any happiness, I currently am enjoying my semester break and therefore will update quite quickly. But you better gimme reviews!**_

_**I would like to clarify a few points in this notes part as well. I was not aware that there was named currency in the series of Familiar of Zero. Apparently it is an ecu so an ecu it is. Furthermore, several other things shall be defined as well such as measuring conventions for weight, length and time etcetera. Just to between you and me, one arms-length is roughly equal to two feet. Guiche is using twelve feet of rope. These parts shall be explained in the story as well. Clocks as well are going to be invented although I will have to research whether there were any during the actual Europe Renaissance.**_

_**Another thing I am going to change very deliberately against canon is the magical system. There is no indication on how people get their wands. At least the Potterverse has Ollivander and Gregorovitch and sufficient explanation. At least the Nasuverse has Mystic Codes. You get what I mean. That is why I am going to explain it in the upcoming chapters.**_

_**I have taken artistic liberty in explaining religion in Halkigenia. It is, as you can observe, a bit like real life Catholicism except I have shown it in broad strokes. I haven't done it justice. Also, I apologize to all the Christians and other God fearing souls out there who might take offense at what I have written. I do not mean any disrespect. I hope you understand.**_

_**I would also like to apologize on the low amount of screen time Guiche has received. I aimed to give him more but then decided against it. It would be better if I move the plot already. Kirei being a jerk and Guiche turning badass all are nice and all but if I don't move the plot more often, the story is going to grow stale.**_

_**Please forgive the wall of text dedicated to Vittorio Serevare. I wanted to give him a good backstory and a justification for all the havoc he is going to cause along with the actual Big Bad of the series, King Joseph. On second thought, the Big Bad Ensemble goes something like this:**_

_**Joseph and Vittorio are the respective Big Bads of their countries with their familiars as their Dragons. Oliver Cromwell is the unwitting pawn of King Joseph. Both Joseph and Vittorio are only working together for the sake of their goals. Both are wary of each other and keep playing a mental and political chess match of EPIC levels. What they don't know is that there are three more players in the game namely Kirei, Henrietta and one surprise. Karin is not a player but a piece albeit a relatively powerful one. Kirei, as you can see, is an Anti-Villain Protagonist rather than an outright Villain Antagonist. It doesn't change his behavior, it simply changes the perspective of things.**_

_**And as you can see from all my conversational troping, I desire a mention or a page on tvtropes. Please, spread the fame of my story so that it can rival that of the other legends out there. And reviews! Don't forget the reviews! I need them! They fuel me!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten: In which the narrator regrets to say that the length has been shortened due to a lack of imagination and the discovery of Sir Terry Pratchett**_

The man in the inn was the centre of the establishment's attention. All the patrons of the seedy inn were trying to take a look at the mysterious stranger. His long hair and tricorn hat prevented anyone from having a clear look at his face although one could tell that he had a slightly thin face. That part alone was proof enough that he was not nobility. Even the noble soldiers had full cheeks. Thin faces were a surefire method of determining whether or not was a person a commoner.

No one, however, was interested in his lineage or occupation. Everyone was terrified to come close to him since he had just wiped the floor with twenty bandits. These bandits were part of the top five bands in the city that no one dared to cross them even at daytime. The stranger was wearing a sword at his hip and hadn't even used it to cut them down. They had wielded daggers and clubs. He had simply used his fists and his legs.

He had won.

Well, any one could tell that they were no match for him. They moved as a mob and got in each other's way as they all tried to attack him at once. He moved in a coordinated manner that was vaguely military and smashed their faces in.

The outlaws often ended up banging their clubs against the furniture and thus suffering from the backlash.

Or they assaulted the stranger with daggers only to end up missing as the stranger moved out of the way of their bullheaded charge and then kicked them down and kept kicking until they went down.

All in all, it was clear that this band had only reached the top ranks through sheer strength of numbers. A single well trained stranger's coordinated movements and blows had taken out the entire band.

Well, not quite the entire band.

One of them was sitting on a chair, still conscious, with his hands on the table. The hands never moved. Perhaps it was because the stranger had driven a knife each through both of them, pinning them to the table. The bandit had long since ceased screaming and was now simply whimpering. The stranger took a seat at the opposite end of his.

"Now, I want to know why did you attack me?" He asked in a cold voice. His Germanian was quite good despite him not being one. The bandit whimpered a little more.

"We thought you would have money. When you knocked the first one of use out, we naturally attacked you." He said in a halting tone.

"That's it?" The mysterious man asked, a trace hint of surprise in his voice. The bandit nodded sluggishly.

"Someone go and get a water mage." The mysterious man said to the petrified onlookers. Several of them bustled out, nearly thankful that they were allowed to get out. The mysterious man turned to his subject.

"That was very foolish of you. How would you have known that the person you would have been harassing would have been me? Or someone just as powerful as me if not more? Needlessly stirring trouble shall come back to bite you every time." He lectured. The bandit nodded vigorously as if he was terrified of getting stabbed again. Tears of pain had dried against his cheeks as well as a line of drool. He looked truly pathetic at the moment.

"Now I want you to answer me to the best of your ability. Do you know of a man named von Anhalt-Zerbst?" He asked. The man shook his head.

"I see." The stranger said and got up. He walked out of the inn and mounted a horse that was chained in front. Very soon, the man was galloping away.

"Well, where is my thanks? Chaining the horse was the right idea, wasn't it? No horse thief can cut through a chain after all!" A mysterious jolly voice said. The stranger did not attempt to respond to the voice.

"I'll tell you this much, kid. That was quite the performance you gave back in the inn. It's a pity you are not the one who can wield me." The stranger gave no indication of ever hearing the voice.

"Then again, even if you carry me around, it's only because I threatened you into taking me away from that weapon dealers shop. No wonder you keep ignoring me." The stranger stopped his horse. He was standing in front of another seedy inn.

"Still looking for von Anhalt-Zerbst? I am telling you, it's a waste of time. Most of these men wouldn't know him anyways." For the first time, the strange paid attention to the voice. He looked down to the sword that was strapped to his hip. It seemed as if it was the sword was talking. The strange didn't ask a question however it was clear from his look that he demanded answers.

"Don't give me that look, alright? Sweet Brimir, even Sasha never looked so fierce. You look like a mass murderer, I tell you! These men won't know von Anhalt-Zerbst because to begin with, you aren't even in von-Anhalt-Zerbst. A man as such must belong to the family which owns the estate. If he is disowned, he must still live on the lands of his family. Maybe they keep him imprisoned? Or hidden? Anyways the point is that no one here would point you in the real direction because they are ignorant commoners. They may be clever enough to survive the harsh world but they are not interested in geography and nobility that is why they would have no idea or interest about von Anhalt-Zerbst." The sword spoke. It was quite strange to see a talking sword but the strange seemed to be taking all of this in stride even if he never spoke a world. The stranger spurred the horse onwards once more.

"Kid, you're heading to Bavaria! You need to head to Saxony! North, not South." The sword laughed. The stranger turned his horse around, his face not even showing a hint of embarrassment on going in the wrong direction.

[Scene Change]

Guiche lay on his back as early morning changed to noon. The golden rays of the sun seemed to pour about the trees and grass. An eagle frequently screamed, its shrill sound punctuating the pleasant silence. Guiche lay a few arm-lengths away from the crack in the rocks that led to the vast network of caves that functioned as the roost for the Band of Falcons. Remy seemed to have chosen the place wisely since the entrance looked like a narrow crack with a dead end even when someone stood a few arm-lengths away from it. It even looked too narrow for a man to enter even though Lind and Lars had dragged a thrashing Guiche out of the entrance without bumping against the walls at night.

That beating had been worse than the beating he had received yesterday. Remy seemed to have thrown away any sense of decency and had ordered the two to beat him within an inch of his life. Guiche had fought back. He had punched and kicked and grabbed and thrashed.

The two of them had been very good at carrying out orders.

There had been a pause during which Remy told him that he could call for help. Guiche had silently tried to punch him but the two managed to sense it somehow and resumed his beating.

Guiche had passed out a little after the start of the second beating. He had woken up a few moments ago. He briefly wondered whether no one had missed him. No one had bothered to drag him back in, at the very least.

Not that it mattered. The fang toothed Remy didn't realize that he wasn't trying to break the spirit of a spoiled noble brat. He was trying to crack apart the will of a determined man, a man who had sworn vengeance. Mere beatings weren't enough to break his spirit.

Guiche got up, groaning in a low voice. The earth beside his feet suddenly caved in and his mole familiar Verdandi popped out.

"Ah, Verdandi, dearest! How do you fare?" Guiche said in a tired voice as he reached across and scratched her neck. Verdandi looked at him with her bright eyes before depositing something at his feet.

"What's this?" Guiche said in an amused voice as he picked it up. It turned out to be a single uncut emerald, barely as large as his small fingernail. Guiche chuckled. At least it was something. Guiche had forbidden Verdadi from interfering when he was being pummeled for two reasons. Firstly because he wanted to show that he could beat those pathetic cowards at their own game. Secondly, Verdandi simply wasn't a familiar suited for battle.

He petted her once more as he decided to hobble back inside the cave. He had no idea what to do for the day so he walked back in. At the very least, the sore look on Remy's face when he saw that the beating hadn't been able to keep him down would be as valuable as the emerald in his pocket. Following the seven steps he remembered to reaching the main cave, he entered it to see Edward sitting on the floor, rubbing a sword with a rag of some sort.

"Ah, you're awake." The large blond man noted. He barely looked up to acknowledge him before returning his attention to the sword in his lap.

"Apparently. It seems that Remy is having a hard time breaking me." Guiche noted dryly. Edward gave him a strange look before setting aside the sword.

"So you believe that Remy is administering those two simply out of spite?" Edward asked slowly. Guiche simply shrugged.

"I admit, Remy is not the best person a man could ask for as a companion or an acquaintance but believe me when I say that he has no bad intentions against you." Edward said with a straight face.

"Forgive me if I have a hard time believing you." Guiche said bluntly.

"He is just trying to teach you." Edward said. Guiche grimaced mentally. Although he had never expected for the other member of the band to come to help him, he had never personally thought that it would be Edward who would side with Remy first. Perhaps he had been fooled into trusting him by his blond hair and handsome features.

"Oh really? All that I have learned from him are taunts and sarcasm. I'll admit that they do make one feel better but I would prefer to learn something that would help me for a change." Guiche deadpanned. Edward looked as if he had been slapped on the face.

"No wonder Remy hates nobles so much. They are so mentally backwards that they can't even see in the correct direction." He muttered before straightening up and looking at Guiche squarely in the eye. "Listen, I know it may seem hard and difficult but there is a lesson hidden in there. You'll just have to press on until you find it." He said seriously.

"Don't worry. I'll manage." Guiche said.

"That being said and done, follow me. I want to show you something." Edward said as he got up. He lead Guiche into another winding series of passages until they came into a smaller cave whose contents left Guiche open mouthed.

Weapons of all sorts filled the large cave, enough of them resent inside to furnish a platoon of soldiers. Swords, maces, spears, halberds, maces, bows, crossbows and several other weapons whose name Guiche didn't even know. There was something about the weapons that Guiche noted. Almost all of them were of the same size or type. Which could only mean one thing.

"You stole them from the army?" Guiche said with amazement.

"Most of them. Some of the swords however, belong to officers or were gifted to us by local blacksmiths." Edward more or less confirmed Guiche's assumption. He reached into a stack of swords that were lying in the corner, seemingly abandoned in stark contrast to the rest of the weapons which were set up in an organized fashion.

"These are the useless ones. Officers simply wear them to look big. They are mostly blunt enough to function better as glorified walking sticks." Edward said as he noticed the other blonde's gaze at the beautiful weapons. He exited the room only to come back later and frown at the still awestruck Guiche.

"What is the matter with you?" Edward asked.

"Edward," Guiche asked in a quivering voice. "Why do you have so many weapons? Surely, only a few daggers and clubs would suffice for mountain bandits?" Edward's frown intensified.

"We are not just mountain bandits and these are not enough for all of us. The number of people within the Band of Falcons is nearly up to five hundred and we need every weapon we can lay our hands on." Edward said. Guiche felt dizzy.

"Five Hundred?" Guiche stammered. "Why so many?"

"Because we are more than just bandits. Remy lost his entire village in the wars thirty years ago by our own armies no less. It was destroyed when that famous manticore knight only known as the Heavy Wind whipped up a great hurricane with his magic. The Heavy Wind had single handedly defeated an army of several hundred men but in the process, he had killed just as many villagers who had nothing to do with it and crops that could have fed thousands." Edward said, impatiently motioning Guiche to come out.

"Well, what of it?" Guiche asked.

"Remy had realized that those nobles who proudly proclaimed themselves to be patriots and defenders of their country did more harm than good. He also learned that due to the delicate political balance between countries, any moment could erupt into a war engulfing all of Halkigenia. And if that happened, the nobles would once again rise to defend their own country and damage it again." Edward explained. They stepped out into the sunshine of noon.

"Go on." Guiche said.

"Remy came up with the solution to make a force that would defend the people and their interests instead of the country. Ultimately, when the nobles meant country, they meant their own political system. Remy's idea of country constituted the people and whatever their interests were. For the sake of the real people of Tristain, not the nobles who damaged it, Remy created the Band of Falcons, a hidden fighting force that has been ready for the previous forty years to crush any enemies of Tristain." Edward said. He suddenly tossed Guiche a long and thick length of dry firewood. "Now steady yourself, for here I come!" he yelled the last sentence as he charged with his own stick held high.

Guiche barely had time to ready himself and he was knocked out once more. Guiche regained his sense sometime later to see Edward, John and Remy standing above him and looking down at him.

"You're not ready to learn the sword yet." Edward said in a disapproving tone. Guiche blinked several times as he tried to sit up. His body didn't respond to his mind at all for some time. It was Remy who pulled him up and helped him lean against a tree trunk.

"Do that one more time, Edward, and I'll fracking kill you." Remy said seriously. Guiche wondered how old he was. His hair was a healthy shade of blue but only tinged with a little white at his temples; he only had a few crow's feet near his eyes and his overall posture was no different than Edward's, proud and strong. He had seen many nobles who had dressed in their finest clothes and had their hair looked after by the best yet they had failed to recreate an aura of nobility.

Guiche wondered why hadn't he seen Remy like that before? And somehow he had his perspective changed by a few words from Edward. What had stopped Guiche from seeing?

"I needed to drill the fact that he wasn't obeying you properly into his skull, Remy." Edward said in a humble tone. Remy simply sniffed in disapproval.

"Oh I am sure that a well disciplined and dead mage would be a wonderful addition to the band, wouldn't he?" Remy snapped. "I know you mean well, Edward but remember, you are also a murderer. I wouldn't trust him in your hands yet. Let me at least knock some sense into him." The fang toothed man continued in a softer tone.

"Forgive me, it wasn't in my place to do so." Edward said quietly. Remy simply waved his hands dismissively.

"Ah well, no harm done in the long run."

"Wait, what did you mean by 'addition to the band'. Wasn't I part of it already?" guiche demanded. Both men stared at him.

"Founder no! You're a frackin' greenhorn in the matter of combat, tactics, stealth and espionage! The only thing you can do now is learn. And I'll try to get you a wand." Remy said in a scandalized voice. Instead of arguing against him, Guiche remained silent. His behavior was silently noted by the other two. Edward flashed the barest hint of a grin while Remy's eyes softened.

"Have Lind and Lars returned yet?" Remy asked suddenly. Guiche suddenly noticed the change in tone.

"Not yet." Edward answered. Remy grunted.

"Wait, at least tell me this. Where did the rest of the band go by the way?" Guiche asked, hoping against hope to get an answer. Remy gaped at him.

"Founder's Blood, didn't you tell him anything?" He demanded from Edward who looked sheepish.

"You told us not to divulge information to anyone outside the band." He answered although Guiche could tell that Edward knew that Remy wasn't going to buy such an excuse, reasonable though it was.

"Excess of caution is just as bad as lack of it. Guiche isn't a true member of the band yet but he isn't an outsider any longer. I also told you to keep him from learning about the quests and operations we conduct but not the basic situation." Remy grumbled. "Come inside, brat. You need to be educated about the current situation in Halkeginia." Remy said as he walked in. Guiche hurried as well, excited to finally learn something about the enigmatic group he had decided to join. Remy lead them to the main cave where he sat on one of the larger slabs of rock. Guiche followed suit, trying not to shiver as well.

"Look, I am sure Edward told you this much but let me retell you. The Band of Falcons isn't an actual band of outlaws, not conventionally at least. We are here to protect the true power of Tristain that is the people. So it doesn't matter what we are fighting as long as it is something that harms the people." Remy said. Guiche nodded.

"Nowadays seems to be an especially delicate time since the Tristainian Court is all a hopping, the Pope is a young man with barely a thimbleful of brains and the King of Gallia is a straight out loony. Unfortunately, that means that one again, the eyes of foreigners are set on Tristain, particularly, Albion and Germania." Remy said before he took a deep breath.

"In the previous years, all we had to was discipline the bandits who thought they could live off the works of the honest hard working men of Tristain. But for the previous five years, three other kinds of powers have sprung up and began working their ways though our country." Remy said. Guiche inadvertently shivered even though the cave no longer felt cold. Remy could tell a story if he wanted to. Perhaps he had been a minstrel or a bard of some sort before?

"As it was, a group of Albionian nobles want to get Tristain in their bid for regaining the Holy Land. Not only that, Germanians as well, although they just want Tristain, not all of Halkigenia. A third force is also at work here but sadly, we don't know enough about it. Albionians are too careless and Germanians are too arrogant for their own good. They are easy enough. This third force is the one that gives the band the most grief." Remy said.

"So what does the band do outside?" Guiche asked breathlessly.

"Well gather rumors and hearsay mostly and then we piece them together in here and try to find out what these people want so that we can stop them if we must. Our den overlooks the pass between Gallia and Tristain the tough the Navarre mountain range and we are only two days away from Port city of Mouette. That is where our fraction conducts their investigations." Remy explained.

"All of the band?" Guiche asked a little disbelievingly.

"Lind and Lars were supposed to stay here. They went hunting instead. Other than that, all of use with the exception of Edward were supposed to go to Mouette. I stayed because I didn't feel so well." Remy said. Guiche found the last statement hard to believe for a moment but decided to let it slide.

It had suddenly dawned on Guiche that he had travelled quite a distance from Paul's Bakery in Tristania. Even though Tristania was in the Navarre province, he didn't realize how he had ended up walking all the way to the Navarre mountains. He didn't remember much of his time spent travelling from Tristania to the Band either. All he knew was that somehow, he had lost consciousness part of the way and Verdandi had dragged him to safety. Perhaps there was a secret buried during this time when he couldn't remember?

"Now that you know about our situation, brat, why don't you help Edward around the cave? And be warned. I am going to tell the two to give you a beating again this night. Be ready." Remy said as he got up with a sigh and straightened his back. Guiche felt his enthusiasm levels dropping again.

At the very least he knew about the ongoing situation. And he could take comfort in the fact that he hadn't joined an ordinary band of thieves. He had joined a band of outlaws that was trying to worm its way into Tristain's politics and machinations for the sake of people while simultaneously harboring a deep grudge towards the nobility.

[Scene Change]

"Master Honore, please don't disturb the Elder Master." The old maid asked fearfully. Honore paid no attention to the old crone and continued on his way to his father's sleeping chambers. He strode like a man who knew what he wanted, where was the things that e desired and just how to procure it. His jeweled staff tapped noisily against the marble floor of the villa. He ignored the roses that were in the vases that lines the corridors, he ignored the smiles of the servants that they presented to him dutifully, he ignored the sunshine that poured through the large Tristain Windows like molten gold.

The narrator would like to note that if sunshine truly was like molten gold, it would have killed all life on earth because it would be very hot and corrosive and obviously molten metal. Trust this narrator, he knows that people don't like having molten metal poured on them. It makes them cranky and you end up getting sued for having the gall to pour molten metal on someone. They get angry and if you don't comply, they cut you into pieces and through you over the pier.

With a tumultuous crash, Honore threw open the doors of the sleeping chamber with a strength that was not entirely expected from one as fat as him. The room was surprisingly small for the supposed master of the house. Merely a single bed, a few chairs and a table on which a vase full of roses was set. Honore paid no attention to anything else except the emaciated figure inside the bed. The rotund noble strode towards the bedside and sat down on one of the chairs that was placed strategically near the bed.

There was a moment of silence while Honore scowled at the withered husk of a man inside the blankets. He was still breathing with some difficulty. After quite some time, he opened his eyes. Honore snorted.

"Well, at least you have proven yourself a military man, father." He said, every word dripping with venom.

"It would take more than this cheap swill of poison to take me down. I will remain a thorn in your side, son." The sick man answered with the surprisingly strong voice of a commander. Honore spread his hands in mock welcome.

"Be my guest, father. The staff and the servants are already with me. Both of my brothers have already decided not to stand in my way. I have already applied a request to the court to excuse you from the court due to poor health. I shall take your place instead." Honore said.

"As the Military Advisor? Her majesty isn't so daft." The older Gramont said in a disgusted tone.

"No, not as the Military Advisor. That post shall be given to either Chevalier Gagnon de Navarre or the Heavy Wind. I am simply representing the Gramont estate. You can rest in peace, General de Gramont." Honore said. The withered husk on the bed hadn't much face left but he managed to look horrified.

"Georges and Gerard actually agreed with you?" He coughed in astonishment. Honore nodded.

"Yes, much as it is difficult for them to agree on anything except the fact that they hate each other. And what did you expect, General? Taking a second wife after my mother died, not to mention she was Albionian? And then taking another after she died? I would never understand how you killed all of them." Honore said in a disapproving tone. The husk actually managed to assert some life in itself when it feebly roared.

"I never killed any of them! You rascal! What are you up to? What about Guiche?" He said. Honore suddenly smiled as if a horse breeder had been asked to show the sire of all the colts he was displaying.

"Ah yes, dear brother Guiche. It seems that there was a reason that you liked him so much. I have to say, while all the rest of us took after our mothers, only he was a true Gramont. Inheriting all the flaws and leaving all the qualities on the table for us. He truly did represent us." Honore said.

"Get on with it! What did you do to him?" The poor General bawled.

"He made the same mistakes as you did in your youth except he went even further than you. You had broken a girl's heart, hadn't you, in your youth? Well Guiche broke it so thoroughly that she took her own life. You had tried to fight the Heavy Wind when both of you studied at the Academy and lost. Guiche fought the Valliere's familiar and lost. You had only lost face in front of your peers, Guiche was disinherited." Honore said as if reciting a particularly bad piece of poetry to someone who hated literature.

"You have no right to disinherit your own brother!" His father yelled but his voice was only heard by Honore. And even if the servants heard it, they wouldn't come forward to help. They knew that sons killed their fathers over matters like these all the time so why should they waste their breath in rescuing someone who had little chance to be rescued anyways?

"Oh but you forgot, father, I have been the representative of the Gramont family for nearly more than a week now. In fact, disinheriting Guiche was my first act as the Gramont family representative. Don't worry, I did it with the best intentions at heart. The Heavy Wind threatened to start a feud between our families if I wouldn't have done so." Honore explained. The General groaned piteously.

"Ah, I am getting too tired for this! Explain to me, Honore de Gramont! What do you intend to do after all this? Is there a purpose behind all this?" The general asked, his breath coming in slow rasps.

"Indeed, dear father, there is a reason. I belong to the Reconquista, a faction of nobles who intend to retake the Holy Land from the filthy elves who reside it. And in order to d so, we are prepared to make as large a sacrifice as possible. We are prepared to stoop as low as necessary." Honore said calmly. The general stared at him for some time.

"My time is coming, Honore. At least for the sake of your father, tell me how you managed to do all this?" The general pleaded. Honore considered this for a moment before sighing.

"Very well, father. I received a letter from that old perverted Headmaster of the Academy who for some inexplicable reason hadn't been kicked out yet. Apparently, Guiche had gotten himself into hot water by attacking the Heavy Wind's daughter and her familiar. He was already under scrutiny because he caused a girl to take her own life. So the very first thing I did was rush to the capital in hopes of securing Guiche's future by trying to clear Guiche's problems for him. I had already applied for the right of representation some time before this and was poisoning you all along. I needed Guiche along with me because as soon as I gained the right of representation, the other three would take this as a sign of the estate being free for all. So I had to take them under Reconquista's wing so that by reaching for the same goal, all of us will effectively become one. The Heavy Wind, incidentally, was at the Hostel at the same time and demanded I disinherit Guiche. Perhaps she knew that I was the representative or perhaps she hoped for me to take up the matter with you. But here I saw a golden opportunity. Guiche is stubborn in a cowardly sort of manner. He would prove much more difficult to reign in than Georges or Gerard imply because he lacks the appropriate religious fervor. So disinheriting him was the best I could do. And the Heavy Wind gave me the perfect excuse." Honore finished. There was a pause. Finally, the husk spoke.

"Why don't you kill your brothers, Honore? At least you are killing me but why not your brothers as well?" He inquired sharply. Honore paused.

"General de Gramont, killing isn't the answer to everything, you know. Georges and Gerard will have their uses in Reconquista. They aren't particularly blessed in brains but they have inherited magical ability from their mothers. They would serve well on airships." Honore explained. He got up and prepared to leave. He stopped at the door.

"By the way, I replaced all your magical devices hidden in this room the day I started poisoning you. My confession wasn't transmitted to her majesty at all. I am not daft enough to be fooled by a common trick found in literature." Honore said. The husk exploded.

"DAMN YOU, HONORE DE RECONQUISTA!" H roared in a voice that could have been heard above the roars of manticores, dragons and griffins. It was the roar of a general. One who had finally fallen to his worst enemy, the politician.

[Scene Change]

There was a silence in the court of Tristain. Henrietta, who normally avoided sitting on the throne, was occupying it with an expression that would have made the most determined jester frown. Beside the platform, on which the throne was placed, stood Cardinal Mazarin who had been summoned in this time of need. Standing among the various nobles and advisors who were present were Gagnon, Valliere and Prince Wales Tudor. The prince himself was now surrounded, rather pitifully, by the two Albionian soldiers who were not injured enough to guard their prince.

"The court is now in session. Honored guest, Prince Wales Tudor, please describe what happened to you that led to this series of unfortunate events." Henrietta said quietly. No one dared tell her that it was the duty of the herald to declare that the court was in session. No one dared tell her that many key officers of the court were inexplicably missing and the court couldn't function without them. In fact, there were only two officers attending the court who were Cardinal Mazarin, the former Lord Regent and the current Secretary, and Duchess Karin de La Valliere, who was the former Captain of the Manticore Corps; former and most uniquely only Lady-in-waiting for Queen Marianne who was now serving as a rather impromptu Lady-in-waiting to Princess Henrietta. All the rest were nobles who simply held land paid their share of taxes to the court but held no important positions.

It would be worth noting that the Constable of Tristain, General Gramont, and the Treasury Overseer of the Court of Tristain, Count Honore de Gramont, were currently talking to each other in their own house.

Wales Tudor stepped out and stood in the middle of the court after waving the soldiers away. No one would dare to assassinate him in court and if they did, two soldiers wouldn't make much of a difference. He looked uncertainly around. It was perhaps, natural of him to do so since a king usually didn't speak like thus and most of the time did not at all. The part of the speaking was assigned to the Secretary of the Court.

"Two days ago, at around midnight, I was roused by my Master of the Bedchamber in a great hurry. He looked extremely distressed and when I questioned him, I was told that my Secretary of the Court, Oliver Cromwell, had declared a revolution. He had, at the moment, opened the portcullis of the castle and had stormed the Royal Premises with a large band of his supporters. My Master of the Bedchamber had been warned by my Constable, Count Jean-Jacques de Wardes, who had told all of the Palace Guard and the Mast of the Guard to well, guard me with their life. We managed to escape all the way to the back of the castle and employ the Royal Corvette, the HMS Albionian, to make good of our escape. In the process of the escape however, we lost 96 guards, Count Jean Jacques de Wardes and most unregrettably, my Master of the Bedchamber." The blond prince narrated, His last comment drew a few involuntary sniggers except from Lady de La Valliere and most surprisingly, Princess Henrietta.

"Are you sure it was Jean Jacques de Wardes who perished in the service of country and king?" Someoneasked. It turned out to be Auguste Gagnon. Wales Tudor look perplexed. "Yes, I am quite sure." He answered. Gagnon remained stunned for only a moment before quickly becoming impassive once more.

"Your eminence, how much money do we have in our coffers?" Henrietta asked. Cardinal Mazarin fumbled with several record books with crossed eyes before replying hesitantly.

"Three hundred thousand ecus."

There was a general murmur of astonishment. Even Karin raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Surely you mean three million!" Henrietta asked. Mazarin rechecked the records before miserably answering.

"No your majesty, only three hundred thousand ecus."

Another murmur but this time of anger.

"How are we supposed to attack Albion with a budget so shallow?" Henrietta asked desperately.

"And an armada consisting of only fifty ships?" Someone asked. No one bothered asking who he was because everyone was thinking about the threat of war. It was a well known fact that every new king immediately tried to attack his neighbors simply as a show of power. In fact, it was rumored that Germania had once declared war on Tristain simply to test their new fangled cannons.

There was a general disquiet among everyone before Karin spoke up.

"I, Karin Desiree de La Valliere, offer the entire contents of my coffers in the service of the Royal Family for the sake of the war." She declared solemnly leaving a stunned silence. And it most unfortunately remained the sole voice that pledged her resources to the Royal Court.

"I, Wales Tudor of Albion, do solemnly pledge my corvette and six men to the Tristainian Royal Court." The prince said helpfully. Still no other person came forth. It wasn't expected from Mazarin or Gagnon who actually depended on the Court. But the rest weren't speaking. It was a voluntary action so no one could begrudge them for not offering.

Henrietta cast a pleading glance around the court. The nobles only averted their eyes out of shame but none had enough of it to step forward and offer some.

One could say that it was quite sad for the Court to wield less power than the Heavy Wind. But for Henrietta, one could say that she was quite fortunate that the Heavy Wind wielded more power than her. All she did was clear her throat and draw her sword.

The Tristainian Royal Court now had linked with it the coffers of nearly fifty terrified noblemen and the Valliere's, who weren't terrified at all.

"Very well, it is quite unfortunate but it seems that we will have to be ready for a war against Albion." Henrietta said grimly.

[Scene Change]

"So, Mzozunitonirun, I have heard that the Albionian government has been overthrown by someone?"

"Yes, your holiness, by a certain Oliver Cromwell. He served as the Secretary of the Court to the Albionian Crown."

"It is quite bizarre but I have heard that Oliver managed to destroy nearly all those who physically opposed him."

"That is correct, your holiness."

"Strange isn't it? Reports indicate that Oliver Cromwell was most regrettably not a popular nobleman. Then how did he manage to muster such an impressive force of supporters?"

"No one said he had an impressive force of supporters."

"And yet his supporters managed to destroy most of the city of Londonium quite thoroughly. Intriguing, isn't it? No, not even intriguing, astounding even. Just what was the use of smashing Londonium up? It makes no sense!"

"I am surprised you do not know a crowd's mentality, your holiness. When you use the correct method, it is easy to rouse a crowd. And when you rouse a crowd, things tend to get broken. It is similar to love making."

"I am a man of God, Myozunitonirun. Spare me your euphemisms."

"Ah yes of course. How silly of me."

"The correct word is vulgar. How vulgar of you."

"I thought you would be a lesser prude as compared to the other old men, your holiness. You are the youngest pope in the history of Halkigenia. At least act like one! Even cardinals have affairs at night even if they denounce the very things they do at day."

"Unfortunately for you, I prefer not be hypocrite. And I was fortunate to have spent most of my youth with a mule and an old man when others of my age were chasing others."

"Really? You do have strange tastes, your holiness!"

"Never mind that and I don't understand what you mean. What intrigues me is that not only did most of the city get smashed up by a nonexistent band of supporters, it also killed 96 palace guard and a constable."

"It also killed the Master of the Royal Badchamber."

"It did? There were no reports about it."

"He was a very unpopular man. Not even the Prince liked him."

"Indeed? What still interests me, however, is that they got killed in the first place. It seems that someone is supporting Cromwell, someone powerful."

"What makes you say that, your holiness?"

"I say that because Cromwell used to be even less popular than the supposed Master of Bedchamber. For him to garner such support speaks volumes of his charisma. Or ability to be controlled."

"Indeed? Are you insinuating that the current head of state of Albion is an idiot?"

"No no, that would be an insult to idiots all over the world. Especially cardinals. At least they have good intentions."

"Whatever you say, your holiness. Good evening and farewell."

"Good riddance to you as well."

_**The reason why this chapter was updated so late was because I am currently tackling bad grades, another parkour injury (I successfully managed to tree run like Connor Kenway and became so happy that I fell down.), general misanthropy, writer's block, Sir Terry Pratchett and a new box of Earl Grey.**_

_**Review even if you find the chapter stale because frankly, it is. I just want to know how much so please notify through reviews. Thank you.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven: Which the narrator uploaded quickly as an apology for the staleness of chapter ten**_

Kotomine Kirei, or Kirei Kotomine if one would prefer, was currently an unhappy man.

The narrator would like to note that unhappy is not the same as sad. Unhappy simply means not happy.

He was currently buried under several tons of rock, mud and dirt and he did not like the combination he was buried under. A normal man would have died very angrily because he would have been indirectly killed by a tiny woman. Kirei was merely unhappy because he was almost killed indirectly by a tiny woman who he personally wanted to murder.

And before anyone else got the wrong idea, it wasn't because Kirei had any argument or quarrel with her. It was simply because Kirei could kill her that was why he wanted to. It was like seeing a bar of chocolate and eating it. Surely, you don't need to be hungry to eat chocolate; you ate chocolate simply because it was chocolate. The same analogy applied to Kirei and his desire to murder his mistress except that unlike eating chocolate, it is highly illegal to kill people. Kirei, however, didn't actually want to murder her for the sake of murder. He wanted to murder her for the sake of amusement. Kirei wasn't a psychopath, he was merely a sadist.

Unfortunately, he was a sadist with a moral compass that although cracked, still functioned. He knew that Louise was in danger of dying and he couldn't allow that for two reasons. Mainly because he wanted to kill her himself and secondly because he was her familiar and rescuing their Masters from stupid situations was one of the many duties of a familiar. The catholic priest sighed before pushing off the boulders that buried him. Those boulders were thrice as tall as he was and ten times as wide. Kirei thanked the Lord that he was buried under such light boulders. Who knows what would have had happened if they would have been heavier? Kirei would have had to use reinforcement magecraft and that would have taken time and time was something he did not have.

After climbing out of the mess he looked around and saw that there was no golem. Either it had been destroyed by that old man or the thief had achieved its objectives. Kirei frowned and rushed inside the castle and within the span of a few minutes, was back inside the headmaster's office where he saw an incredibly strange sight.

The old man was getting kicked by Louise and Colbert was still lying on the floor. He appeared to be moaning softly. Kirei couldn't decide which matter warranted more attention before e found something even more attention worthy.

All the adrenaline in his system as quickly dying down due to a lack of something for Kirei to kill and the pain was returning. Kirei felt his chest and winced. Tree ribs had been broken and he hadn't even noticed. He had also noticed, to his everlasting disappointment, that one of the ribs had pierced something vital inside his body. Kirei couldn't determine what it was but apparently, it was very vital since it was basically inside him. Anything that was inside Kirei's body usually was extremely vital for him.

Kirei thought for moment before painfully walking over to Colbert's form and somehow kneeling down beside him without causing undue harm to himself.

Colbert was, to Kirei's dull surprise, very much awake.

"Mister Kirei, you are hurt." Colbert said. This was, to Kirei, even more surprising. Kirei's body did not look like as if it was badly damaged yet Colbert still managed to discover.

"How did you know?" Kirei asked somewhat foolishly.

"You were wincing." Colbert pointed out. It was, Kirei reflected, a very fair point to point out.

"I keep a bottle of the regenerative potion on my person at all times. Use it on yourself, Mister Kirei." Colbert said rather faintly. The poor man had been smashed rather violently by the golem. Kirei could tell that he didn't have much time left. Colbert pointed out which pocket the potion was in.

"Why should I use it on myself, Mister Colbert." Kirei said slowly. This was a man who, unlike the common noble (if something as contradictory as that existed), actually noticed things that should be noticed. Simple men like him or the Emiyas were, on the whole, much more dangerous than complex men like Tokiomi.

"Because I have seen what you are, Mister Kirei. You don't show emotion as much as others do. If you wince, it means that you have been wounded most terribly. And you are a much more useful man than I am. It is only fair that you get it." Colbert said. His eyes became glazed and his breaths came in rasps.

Kirei took out the potion from Colbert's pocket, uncorked it and in one swift motion, plunged it inside Colbert's mouth while simultaneously pinching his nose to force him to swallow. What Kirei didn't know was that it almost exactly like this had Colbert restored Kirei to health. Colbert's eyes shot open in surprise as his body gave a lurch. Kirei looked on in an uninterested manner as Colbert's body started to buck and thrash rather wildly. He was sure that during the violent process of healing, the potion inadvertently broke Colbert's spine and several other bones several times and misplaced quite a few organs only to heal them later. Finally, after several seconds of wild erratic movements, Colbert sat up, completely healed yet still without hair on his head.

"Why?" He asked in a most surprised tone.

"You restored my heart and gave me life. It would be most thankless of me not to return the favor." Kirei answered. Colbert considered the question for a few moments.

"So does that mean you are not injured grievously?" Colbert asked.

"I never said that. I simply said that I was not thankless." Kirei coolly answered.

"So you are gravely injured?"

"Yes." The reply stunned Colbert. But what happened next surprised him even more.

Kirei took a look at his chest before he plunged his right hand in while he seemed to recite something in a foreign language. A shriek told Kirei that his mistress had also witnessed him healing himself. It did not affect Kirei's pace of healing himself by the slightest. Kirei could have used the potion on himself and used his skill in healing to restore Colbert but he knew that his skill wouldn't be enough for the bald man. Thus, the potion had been used to heal Colbert while Kirei thaumaturgically mended his body.

Kirei winced. He had essentially not healed himself completely because he had used up nearly five sixths of his capacity in reinforcing himself when he had to punch the golem's palm. Upon reflection, only ten percent power would have been sufficient. With only fifty units of prana left in his body, Kirei had to resort to use his healing magecraft efficiently. He had simply straightened his ribs and healed his muscles. His muscles, however, had only been straightened, not mended. They were still fractures. Kirei shrugged. He knew enough about human anatomy that his bones would heal and become stronger. He could function properly with a few fractured ribs.

"How did you do that?" Colbert and Louise asked simultaneously.

"How did I do what? And more importantly, where is that green haired woman?" Kirei asked.

Louise gestured towards the groaning Headmaster.

"He left her escape." She spat out angrily. Kirei for a moment saw a hint of her mother inside her. Then he blinked in surprise.

"Wait a moment, he let her escape? How? And more importantly, why?" Kirei asked with a deliberate slowness that was only found in priests who were extracting confession from the unworthy.

"Well, you see, when Miss Valliere and I demolished Fouquet's golem's arms, it started to crumble and collapse. Using the last remains of her willpower, Fouquet used her Earth Magic to propel herself back to the building. Except that she missed. She managed to catch the ledge but couldn't lift herself. So she asked me to pull her up in return for letting me touch her breasts. It was a fair deal. As soon as I was done though, she managed to knock me out." Old Osmond explained sheepishly.

Kirei stared at the man with the white beard with a piercing glare that informed the old man that Kirei did not like him at all. He had assumed that this old man had some sense in him. After all, if he could catch his own mistakes in a conversation, that was often proof that the man had some brains and therefore could prove to be very interesting. Kirei grimaced. It was his own mistake on overestimating this man's intelligence. Not only this man had proven to be absurdly powerful and stupid, he also proved to be extremely boring. The thing that drove this man wasn't some interesting human desire like ambition or greed or some other flaw. It was purely animal magnetism and lust.

Kirei, however, managed not to kill the old man out of disappointment. He was a better man than that to simply kill people if they did not prove to be interesting.

That job belonged to his mistress who was currently failing to kill her headmaster.

"OSMOND!" Colbert roared. Kirei smiled thinly as he realized that a much more interesting man could do the part about killing others.

Most anticlimactically, Colbert didn't kill Osmond. He did, however, singe off his eyebrows in an extremely rare display of anger.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THIS!" The bald man roared, now grabbing his superior by the lapels and shaking him violently.

"I am sor-" The older man began but was cut off when Colbert shook him furiously, rattling his teeth.

"FOUQUET GOT AWAY WITH THE STAFF, DIDN'T SHE?" Colbert yelled once more. Osmond decided that it was safer to nod. All it did was end up making Colbert angrier.

"EVEN YOU CANNOT BE THIS BASE! WHAT ARE YOU, A GRAMONT?" Colbert said then suddenly let go as he realized what he had said. Louise gazed in a disapproving tone at Colbert. Even Kirei frowned. Kirei believed that a man carried his own sins. His family must not be tainted because of them. Conversely, a man's virtues did not promote his family. This perspective of his was not shared by many but was, in Kirei's humble opinion, the correct one and many knew it.

"Mister Colbert, I had hired a coach to take us back to the Valliere estate. If the coach's horses haven't been frightened and the coach still remains, can we depart?" louise asked icily. Colbert looked at his student in a distracted manner.

"Yes yes, you do that. Founder's Will, Osmond you really know how to throw things to the dogs, don't you? I will have to inform her majesty about your poor conduct and performance. You can even expect to be tried at court for this. It amounts to treason, you know." Colbert said as he bustled about the wrecked office, looking for anything salvageable. Louise stared at a moment before sighing. For a woman who had just gone through a borderline traumatic experience, Louise looked fairly composed.

"Come one, Kirei." She said and the mistress and familiar made their way through the enormous, silent and empty building and went outside. They found, that the coach hadn't run away. When an extremely surprised Louise asked, the driver brusquely answered that he had often come here for business and every time students were causing enough explosions to give the Royal Mage Corps a run for their money. Kirei saw that Louise blushed crimson for some reason but chose not to comment on it.

After he loaded all of Louise's luggage on to the coach for some reason, a thought struck Kirei.

"Mistress, I need to go find my clothes." He said. Louise gave him a wry look.

"You mean the ones that we burned after we found you nearly dead?" She asked cautiously.

"The very same. I will leave with your permission." Kirei said, smiling the manticore smile that he knew by now Louise hated very much. Louise gave him a look before sighing.

"Why do you want to find them?" She asked.

"They contain my weapons." Kirei answered. Louise sat up straight.

"You mean the-" She said.

"The very same, mistress." Kirei acknowledged. Louise considered for a moment. She sighed once more.

"Even if I forbid you, I believe you will go ahead and find a way to do as you please without literally disobeying me, won't you? After all, Mother only forbade you from leaving the room from the door and failed to mention the window." Louise said in a tired tone.

"You are absolutely right, mistress." Kirei answered causing Louise to glare at him sharply.

"Sometimes, I think you don't respect my authority enough." She complained.

"I do respect your authority, mistress. I follow your commands word by word." Kirei answered, causing Louise to grit her teeth. The manticore smile was working on her nerves once more and so was his tone.

"Just go. But you will have to catch up with the coach yourself!" Louise said hotly. "Away!" She commanded the driver who obediently flicked the reigns. The coach began to draw away. Kirei smiled and then suddenly exploded into action. His legs blurred as the priest ran towards the gate, easily overtaking the coach while frightening the horses. He exited the perimeter of the academy. He remembered where the midden was. He made his way to it and in a few moments, found himself quite perplexed.

The midden, he found out, was actually a deep pit which was nearly filled to the brim with human waste. The smell was so overpowering that Kirei was nearly knocked out. As it was, he had to grab a tree trunk for support. He looked at the ground as his brain tried to get back into position.

And saw a set of fresh human tracks.

All interest in the Black Keys forgotten, Kirei followed the tracks. No one was at the academy and yet someone had passed this way. Kirei was smart enough to know who it might be. And very soon, he was proven true.

"Is that the Staff?" Kirei asked calmly, nearly making Fouquet jump out of her skin. Kirei noticed that the woman's knees were shaking for some reason. The woman shakily pointed the Staff at him. Only for Kirei to calmly walk up and yank the Staff out of her hands.

The runes on his hands suddenly glowed and Kirei felt knowledge pour into his mind. It was not a Staff, what he was holding was a M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon and he was holding it incorrectly. It was an unguided, single shot weapon and it had arrived in this universe nearly forty years ago. A lot of extra information flooded inside his brain but Kirei hurriedly handed the weapon back to a very surprised Fouquet. The flow of information seized although what had remained inside his mind stayed there.

"You were a Earth Mage, weren't you?" Kirei asked the seemingly obvious question. Already terrified by the man in front of him, the green haired woman nodded helplessly. "I need you to do something for me."Kirei commanded.

"I can't! I drained myself dry against you people!" Fouquet said helplessly. Kirei nodded thoughtfully.

"That would explain why you chose to merely knock out the headmaster instead of killing him. Nevertheless, can you sense the presence of metal?" Kirei asked. Fouquet nodded rather sulkily this time. Kirei pondered for a moment before suddenly taking off his shirt. Ignoring Fouquet's stares at his chest, Kirei wrapped his right hand with the shirt and then took the weapon from Fouquet's rather slack hands once more. His runes did not activate. This meant that physical contact was required. Kirei made a mental note to ask Louise for some gloves.

"Follow me." He said as he led the green haired thief to the midden, completely ignoring her stares.

"There are several hilts of my swords inside this midden. They are made from blessed iron so I doubt you will have any difficulty in detecting them, seeing as people don't throw metal in a midden. I want you to sense their presence and if possible, bring them out." Kirei said. Fouquet nodded once more before turning her wand towards the steaming pit of refuse and mumbling a spell. After a few moments, something rose from the midden. Fouquet looked nearly exhausted by the time she brought the item to them.

The object turned out to be Kirei's priest robes. Kirei nodded to himself. He was having doubts on whether someone would be able to burn them at all, seeing as his late master Tokiomi had made them heat proof and combustion proof himself. They had most probably lied to him. People always lied about everything all the time. Kirei personally disapproved of this practice but didn't reprimand others openly. Lying was just one of the many things that made people so human. Kirei riffled through his clothes and brought out the hilts. Then he threw the clothes away. Much as he wanted to wear them, they were already soiled enough. No amount of washing could clean them. He would have to find some other alternate. The hilts, on the other hand, were miraculously clean. It was as if they had rejected the filth that had surrounded them. Kire pocketed them and then turned to the still lingering Fouquet.

"Fouquet," Kirei surprised the woman by addressing her directly. "Why do you commit theft?"

The question caught her off guard. She stared at his face after ripping her gaze from the shirtless priest's chest.

"What?" She said, completely confused and disoriented. Kirei had a feeling that her confusion was not because of her fight with Osmond but for a different reason. He felt like grinning but didn't as he put on his shirt once more. He firmly planted a foot on the lying weapon in order to send across the message; you will not be taking this weapon away.

"Why do you commit theft?" He asked, pronouncing his words much slower as if lecturing a particularly dull baboon.

"Because I require the money." She answered hesitantly. Kirei smiled thinly. She was showing the appropriate response now. Perhaps when he had returned his shirt back on his torso, her wits had returned to her as well. She was now acting cautiously as if Kirei was capable of ripping her apart if he chose.

The author would like to note that Kirei most certainly is capable of ripping her apart if he chose but was simply choosing not to.

"For self-sustainment?" Kirei inquired politely.

"Yes." Fouquet answered but Kirei immediately recognized that it was a lie. She was staring at the tree behind him, not at him. He decided not to pounce on it but slowly draw out the facts from her.

"I see. So for the sake of yourself, you commit evil." Kirei said simply, observing her. Her shoulders and posture relaxed slightly. She was not feeling guilty of committing such a crime but was trying to protect someone, Kirei realized. The smallest smile tugged at his face as he recalled several other people who had wanted to protect something selfishly. It was such a refreshingly humane property, the desire to protect that which is dear to one's self. It drove people to commit crimes.

This woman was at least much more interesting than Osmond even if she had the vulgar habit of staring at a bare masculine torso.

"How much evil are you willing to commit?" He asked. Fouquet fidgeted.

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" She whimpered. People did not, Kirei knew, enjoy his company. In fact, Kirei had come to realize a long time ago, the only people who tolerated his company were his father, Tokiomi and Gilgamesh. His father's tolerance, he could understand. Gilgamesh's tolerance was also understandable since Gilgamesh did not regard him as something worth his notice most of the time. But it was Tokiomi's tolerance that Kirei found puzzling. Even if he was Tokiomi's student and ally, it was quite puzzling to see the man not a turn a hair or raise his voice at him. If it could have been avoided, Kirei wouldn't have killed him. He simply would have seen how much he could push Tokiomi's patience until he snapped.

Then he would have killed him.

"Because I wish to know more about you." Kirei stated simply. Fouquet stared at the tall man for a few moments before she realized that the meaning behind the sentence was not the one she thought it was.

"Why?" Fouquet asked in a quivering tone.

"An interesting woman like you must have an equally interesting story to tell. And I also have the time to listen." Kirei said simply. Fouquet felt like confessing every crime she had ever committed but a deeply buried animalistic instinct told her to shut up. This man was more dangerous with words than he was with his fists and his fists were much more dangerous than any other mage she had met save for the perverted old man.

"I wonder if they would be able to survive without you having to provide for them." Kirei said, making an educated guess. Fouquet took a few steps back. Kirei noticed, with a certain degree of satisfaction, that her eyes had cleared and she looked sharper. It seemed that the thinly veiled threat was enough to disillusion the green haired woman.

"How do you know about them?" She asked sharply. Kirei noted that even when she betrayed herself, she did not mention who 'they' were. Her cautious nature was another sign that she might have had an interesting story to tell.

"I merely guessed but I did so because your posture betrayed your intent." Kirei said. Fouquet looked at herself critically before looking back at Kirei.

"Yes, I commit crime for their sake. Now, are you going to take me to the authorities or are you going to kill me here?" She asked. She was desperately trying to put up an air of bravery but Kirei could tell that it was false.

"I never said I was going to do either. I merely asked for answers." Kirei said. The woman looked up, her eyes glimmering with hope. Kirei fought the urge to crush her throat simply to feast on the look of renewed despair she would show. However, there was a very good reason why he didn't.

Her story didn't fit.

It was all very well for her to rob people to support whoever she wanted to support but it didn't explain her unwillingness to confess. Either whatever she was hiding and nourishing was illegal or she was committing theft on orders as a form of employment, free lance crime it could be said, from someone who wanted to remain hidden.

Kirei wanted to find out what.

Because all his previous plays had been too small. One could say that the theatre of tragedy was too small for a large number of actors. Kirei wanted to make a larger play. And for a larger play, he would need large amounts of information.

Which was why, despite the enticement it proffered, Kirei did not end the fragile life of the woman in front of him.

"Answer two more of my questions and you are free to go with the Staff of Destruction." Kirei said. The eyes of the woman were now positively gleaming.

"What is your true name?" Kirei asked.

"Matilda Stewart of Saxe-Gotha." The reply readily came. It also, however, left Kirei slightly confused. Her names was English yet her domicile sounded German. Feeling slightly confused, Kirei decided to ask the second question.

"Why did you escape from this route?" He asked.

"Did you notice the smell?" She said. Kirei nodded briefly. "I passed by this route so that the smell may confuse the hunting dogs if any peasant or commoner was stupid enough to join the chase. One must always be prepared.

"Yes, one must." Kirei observed. He picked up the M72 and handed it to Matilda while ignoring the resumed flow of information.

"Rejoice, Matilda Stewart of Saxe-Gotha, for your desire to protect someone is a virtuous one. But one must be sure to see that he does not change from a protector against danger to danger himself. If one is willing to go to any lengths for someone's sake, he must realize that others may also be of the same mind." Kirei said in a low but impressive voice. Matilda shivered slightly as Kirei suddenly turned and sprinted away, leaving her standing alone.

Kirei returned to the road and very soon caught up the coach. He opened the door and sat inside, making Louise jump out of her skin.

"Kirei!"

"The same."

"Don't do that!"

"Don't do what?"

"Jump onto a mobile coach."

"Why not, mistress?"

"It terrifies me."

"Indeed it does, mistress but I am afraid that it was necessary. I did not want to halt the coach and break its pace so I decided to board while it was still moving."

"That reminds me, how did you catch up with us so quickly?"

"I ran."

"The horses are galloping!"

"I ran very fast."

"Really? I assume that no one has need for horses in your world then? All one has to do is to run from one point to another?"

"We do not need horses although we do not run either. Most of the time anyways. We have cars for that."

"What in Founder's name is a car?"

"It is a horseless carriage, mistress. One which is driven by a machine."

"I thought people in your world were mages? Why would they resort to machines?"

"Because barely half a million of us are actually mages, mistress. Most of us needed a better way that is why they resorted to machinery and technology."

"What folly is this? Only half a million mages? That much is equal to the current population of Halkigenia! How many people reside your world?"

"Six billion the last I heard of it mistress. Mistress? Mistress, no need to faint now. Mistress?"

And the coach continued to the Valliere estate.

* * *

Guiche managed to drag himself into the main cave and gave Remy, Lind and Lars the deadliest glare he could manage without falling asleep.

It proved to be quite difficult since they were all grinning like madman and even Guiche understood the joke. It happened to be quite difficult to give blood curdling stares when you want to laugh out loud.

Last night, Remy had told him to be ready for the three of them to drag him out for another night's worth of fighting. And they didn't disturb Guiche at all. The blond young man had spent the entire night awake and waiting for them to jump him.

"You're despicable." He muttered.

"Morning, Guiche. Fancy some rabbit?" Remy said in a voice that was almost cheerful.

"You made me spend the night awake! It's not a good jest!" Guiche accused them.

"Well, it is quite a good one…" Lars began.

"…If you look at it from our perspective." Lind finished.

"Oh go stab a bandit, both of you." Guiche muttered as he helped himself to some rabbit.

"Bandit activity is quite down recently." Remy replied.

"Because most of them were hung by the people or the Band." Edward said as he suddenly emerged from one of the cave's many entrances.

Guiche shook his head as he finished picking the bones of the rabbit for any strand of meat. He had long since learned that since rabbits had a tendency to go scarce, most of the people in the band stripped the bones of anything edible. Guiche suspected that Remy or John would even eat the bones themselves.

"Alright then, time for you to shape up some more." Remy declared.

"What! So soon?" Guiche said in a surprised tone.

And the ambush for which he had stayed up all night sprung up on him in the morning. Remy slapped him hard enough for him to fall of his rock. Lind grabbed his left leg while Lars grabbed his right and the two of them dragged him out.

Guiche fought furiously. He was so drowsy that most of the time he flailed around blindly rather than fight in any correct form. He waved his arms at the silhouettes he saw. He swiped at any sound he felt suspicious. Guiche at the moment, moved simply where his instinct told him to move.

And then he hit something. It was not a tree trunk or the wall of the mountain. It was something that had skin.

"Ouch!" It was either Lind or Lars who said that. Guiche couldn't tell. But he did know that such a golden opportunity would never arise again. Once more, he sloppily punched at whatever had got hit before. He connected once again, much to his sleepy elation. He tried to land a third hit with his left.

His target, Lars or Lind, ducked under his arm and kicked him squarely below the belt.

As Guiche went down, all traces of sleepiness gone and curled up in a ball, he heard Remy chastise Lind or Lars. He couldn't tell.

"That wasn't nice of you." Remy said although Guiche could tell that Remy wasn't angry.

"He hit me twice." Whoever he had hit replied.

"So you got angry?"

"No, I realized that I couldn't humor him anymore."

"Those two blows were lucky ones." Remy said.

"But he'll learn from them. He now knows how it feels to hit someone. He has grown." Lind or Lars answered.

"Very well. Guiche, we'll be done for today. Lars and Lind need to go hunting. You are allowed to go sleep for the day." Remy said. Lars and Ling proved kind enough to pick up Guiche and put him where he could sleep comfortably. Not that Guiche was feeling any comfort. He wondered whether his offspring would have any mental deficiencies. Then e scolded himself for even thinking about having offspring.

Guiche slept for the entire day and woke up at the dawn of the next. He didn't wake up voluntarily. Lind and Lars dragged him out.

As soon as he got up, Guiche exploded into a flurry of fists and kicks, all of which missed because Lind and Lars simply moved out of the way. The entire time, Guiche tried hitting them, but all he ended up doing was tiring himself out. And as soon as Guiche paused, one of them would shove him hard enough for him to fall.

Guiche kept thinking of all the things Remy and Edward had told him. Remy was trying to teach him something. Edward had said that there was a valuable lesson hidden in there all the time. But the question was, what was it?

Guiche pulled himself up every time but he got shoved down every time as well. Finally, Guiche ran out of energy. He lay on his back, panting heavily. The sun was just beginning to come up. Lars or Lind ambled into his view. The young man looked down at him.

"You fight better when you are half asleep." He commented. Guiche realized, at some fundamental level, that it was a simple statement. It was not some form of sarcasm or a taunt. It was a simple statement.

Didn't stop him from grinding his teeth.

"He can't figure out the trick, can he?" Lars or Lind said to Lars or Lind. Guiche still couldn't tell them apart.

"Nope. Nobles think everything is much more complex than that." The other agreed.

"When it is quite simple to begin with." The first observed. Both nodded sagely. The first rays of the sun began to pour on the mountain.

Guiche remained supine on the ground.

"Why do both of you remain wherever Remy is?" He asked the red heads. The two looked at each other and shrugged as if it was a matter of nominal importance.

"That's because he raised us." One of them said.

"He is like a father." The other finished.

"Are both of you brothers by blood?" Guiche asked.

"No. But we look and act like that, don't we? Remy raised both of us when we were squalling babes. The nomads didn't want anything to do with us. Our mothers had a roll in the hay with some soldier, Germanian we think, and now didn't want us. Remy rescued us then. He was trying to persuade the nomads to join the band but settled for us two." Lars or Lind answered. Guiche looked closely at both of them for the first time. Both of them looked amazingly similar but, Guiche realized with a sinking feeling, they had enough subtle differences present on their faces to differentiate between the two of them.

Was it the same soldier who left their mother with child? Guiche thought with a sickening feeling in his guts. They claimed to have different mothers but what if they shared the same father?

Another feeling assaulted Guiche's mind. What would have happened if Remy hadn't been there? How many children like them had been abandoned because a Remy wasn't there?

Guiche sprang to his feet.

"Let's have another go, shall we?" Guiche said hurriedly. He wanted to clear his head of such thoughts and a good beating was sure to knock them out. Or him out.

"You sure?" One of them asked. Guiche made a mental note that his face was the one that was slightly thicker.

"Yes." Guiche answered.

"Is he sure, Lind?" the thicker faced one asked the thinner faced one.

"I think he is, Lars." Lind answered slowly.

They resumed and once again, Guiche was knocked off his feet.

"Say what you will but he got some stuff in him." Lind said.

"Even if someone killed him, they would get the fright of their life. I don't think he would be smart enough to know that he has been killed. He would get right up for another round." Lars joked.

"Another round!" Guiche said, scrambling to his feet.

But the round was delayed by the most surprising arrival of Duccio, the Romalian.

"Remy, I've got news from Mouette." He yelled. Remy, who had been watching the three young men fight from the cave's entrance, trotted up, a frown decorating his face.

"What is it, you Romalian oaf? And don't tell me some count has arrived in town. They keep coming to Mouette all the time." Remy snarled.

"The princess has ordered the construction of one hundred and fifty galleons." Duccio said grimly.

"What!" Remy yelled in surprise.

"What is a galleon?" Guiche asked, feeling extremely stupid.

"Galleons are airships with at least three sailing masts and one sail rudder. They are usually manned by commoners and armed with cannons. It is cheaper to build a galleon as compared to a frigate. Not only that, frigates require mages as part of their arsenal." Duccio said as if reciting from a book.

"Which means Tristain needs an Aerial Navy as quickly as it can." Remy said grimly.

"Don't you mean Air Force?" Guiche said, not wanting to look stupid. He was the son of a general after all. He couldn't afford to look stupid.

"No no, that's the Manticore, Dragon and Griffin Corps combined that's called the Air Force." Remy said dismissively. Guiche deflated. Remy frowned for some time before coming to a conclusion.

"Edward!" He roared. A few moments later, the tall man came hurrying out of the cave.

"What is it?" He inquired.

"I am leaving for Mouette right now. I am taking Lind and Lars with me along with that brat as well. Gotta poke around that port to see what that little brat on the throne is up to. What Tristain doesn't need right now is a war. Too many people we don't about inside my country and too many things going on that we don't know about." Remy growled as he went inside the cave. Guiche scrambled up and went inside after him.

"Why me?" He asked in a bewildered tone.

"Sometimes, brat, you've gotta see something up close enough, not just hear about it. And hands on experience never heard anyone except those who were too stupid to learn from it." Remy said. He went inside and returned with four sheathed swords and four daggers. He handed one of the swords to Guiche. Lars and Lind took their own ones and expertly tied them to their sashes. Guiche looked on helplessly. He had never expected for things to take such a turn.

"I don't know how to use a sword." He wailed. "Or a dagger either!" he dded when remy handed him.

"Daggers are easy. All you have to do is stab with them. Like this." Lind said as he stabbed the air with his weapons.

"As for swords, you'll learn. Mouette is nearly two days away. Plenty of time to practice and perfect." Lars assured. Guiche's eyes were now as large as saucers.

"You're mad!" He exclaimed. He seemed to have said the wrong thing because Remy and his adopted sons grinned like manticores at that statement.

"Good thing I was too or else I never would have been able to make the band. Now let's go, brat. Better make use of an early start." Remy said. Edward most thoughtfully handed Guiche a cloak.

"Don't worry. Lars and Lind will definitely protect you." He whispered. Guiche gave him a withering gaze.

"Duccio, you and Edward guard the cave. I am gonna send a few more from Mouette to help you. If Gallians are inside Tristain that means they are going to send more spies through the pass. Don't let them through. Show no mercy. No Gallian is going to set foot in my country." Remy snarled.

"My mother is Gallian!" Duccio said in a highly insulted voice.

"She isn't Gallian enough then." Remy rudely answered and then walked away in large strides, while Lind and Lars followed their blue haired father with Guiche trailing behind them.

* * *

"Your Holiness, are you feeling better?" Julio asked Vittorio. The young pope most definitely was not ill. At least he did not look ill.

"Ah yes, Julio. I feel rather feverish at the moment. Why don't you pull up a chair and attend to me so that I can feel better?" He asked pleasantly. Julio looked at his master somberly. When he had become a knight priest, he had wanted to serve the Church to the best of his duties. What he had not expected was becoming the Windalfr to the Pope. Vittorio Serevare was anything but the image of a devout believer. He could maintain the façade of being one but Julio knew that it was merely a façade. A mask for him to put on and fool the public. In other words, an insult to the title of Papacy.

Julio Cesare had been infuriated at first but had gradually mellowed out. It was usual for Vittorio to say that he was feeling feverish. It was the Pope's way of rebelling against the very cardinals who had voted him in.

"What is it, your holiness?" Julio said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. Vittori Serevare was looking at the Founder's Mirror intently but as soon as Julio came inside, he put it on the desk. The Windalfr sat on one of the many chairs in the room and looked expectantly at the Pope.

"Albion has fallen." The Pope said casually.

"What!" Julio said, nearly falling out of his chair.

"And it seems that the man who overthrew the government was the former Secretary to the Royal Court."

"He betrayed the very family he served?"

"For some material reason I expect."

"When did it fall?"

"Several days ago. I learned of this through my private resources and contacts."

There was a silence that was almost deafening in its lack of sound.

The narrator would like to listen to this sort of silence.

"Why did you tell me all of this." Julio Cesre finally sighed.

"Glad you got to the point." Vittorio said brightly. "As you know, I am a Void mage and you are my human familiar, the Windalfr."

"Indeed."

"Remember Pedro?"

"What about him?"

"He said about four powers being present in the land. I think what he meant by that was the Void mages." Vittorio said thoughtfully.

"Your brilliance astounds me, your holiness." Julio said dryly.

"But then there was the added twist of having three other powers, which I imagine are the Void familiars. Of the four powers, Pedro said that one was in Albion, two of them in Tristain and one in Romalia. What confuses me is that two of them were in Tristain at that time. How can be two bearers of the Void in the same country?" Vittorio wondered.

"Is there a problem for them being in the same country?" Julio said, his interest in religious matter piqued.

"The Heart comes from Albion, the Mind from Gallia, The Left from Tristain and the Right from Romalia. Two cannot emerge from the same country." Vittorio said.

"What if one was passing through?" Julio suggested. Vittorio stared at him.

"What do you mean by that?" He said in a confused voice.

"Well, Void familiars are familiars in the end after all, aren't they? You could tell me to go fetch something like regents or send messages. So maybe it was a familiar whose Master told him to do some work in Tristain?" Julio proposed. Vittorio thought it over before finally shaking his head.

"No, Julio, it can't be. Your theory is very powerful but it has one vital flaw." The Pope said in a kind voice which he often used in front of other noblemen. It was a very patronizing voice but it didn't seem to drive people angry. Often.

"There are four Void bearers and one of them hasn't summoned his or her familiar. That is why the total number of powers from the prophesy adds up to seven. The Left, Right and the Mind have been discovered. This means that the Albionian bearer has yet to be discovered and that is why he or she hasn't summoned the Lifdrasir. I am ready to wager that the poor soul doesn't even know that he is a Bearer." The Pope concluded.

"But there was a part in the prophesy which said that the one in Albion is the same as the one in Tristain. What does that mean?" Julio said. Vittorio looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Well you know how it is with these royals. Pedigree and lineage, the usual. I suppose that the Tristainian bearer is somehow related to the Albionian." The Pope said nervously. Julio stared at him.

"Do you really believe that?" Julio asked flatly. The Pope fidgeted before sighing.

"Of course I don't Julio. I only want to comfort myself with the fact that I may have a grasp on the situation. Nothing is as easy." Vittorio said bitterly.

The narrator would like to note the irony of the situation that Vittorio Serevare does not believe that he is right when in fact he is. Although prophesy does not mean what he theorized, he is correct about the Albionian bearer being related to the Tristainian bearer. Louise Francoise le Blanc de La Valliere is related to the Royal Family due to being the descendant of an illegitimate child of a Tristainian King. Wales Tudor, the Prince of Albion is distantly related to Henrietta. And Tiffania Westwood is the illegitimate child of a previous Albionian King, thus being somehow related to Wales. It all sorts in the tangled family matter of things.

And they call Pedro inbred. Hypocrites.

"What would be your next theory about the prophecy, your holiness?" Julio asked.

"The opposite of the first. Through some miracle or mistake, there are four familiars yet only three bearers. And for some twisted reason, there is a Gandalfr in both Albion and Tristain." Julio said. He sounded bitter as if he didn't want to admit the possibility of the second hypothesis even existing.

"That makes no sense!" Julio declared.

"But it is possible, my dear Julio, which is why it irritates me. One is a possibility that is more probable yet doesn't sit well with me. The other is not only improbable but actually downright bizarre but I actually think of it as more likely than the first." Vittorio said in a sour voice.

There was another pause before something dawned on Julio.

"Why are we discussing this?" The Windalfr asked his Master. The Pope remained silent for a few moments.

"What was the purpose of the Church of Brimir, Julio?" He finally asked.

"To carry out the Will of the Founder." Julio automatically answered as if it was a lesson he had learned by heart. In fact, it really was a lesson that was learned by every believer.

"Very good. What is the Will of the Founder?" Vittorio asked.

"The Retaking of the Holy Land." Julio answered promptly once more.

"And to do that, we must join together the Four Bearers, Four Familiars and the Four Treasures, isn't that right?" The Pope said. Julio shifted uncomfortably.

"Well?" Vittorio inquired gently. The pope had perfected the art of speaking gently so much that even when he was being inquisitive and rather bad company, he kept a gentle voice.

"Yes, that much is true." Julio replied.

"And that is what I intend to do. I intend to retake the Holy Land." The Pope said. Julio Cesare stared at his Master with some confusion.

"Just like that?" He said suspiciously. Vittorio offered his sunniest smile to Julio.

"Is there any problem? Surely, I have the best intentions at heart!" Vittorio said mildly.

"Says the man whose first act after being declared Pope was excommunicating his own family." Julio said flatly.

"Oh come now. That man deserved it. And that was the only man I ever excommunicated. No one else. Most Popes have excommunicated entire nations and races." Vittorio said. One had to admire the fact that he looked so mellow while practically radiating anger.

"You are still anger that Cardinal Breggia and his cohort did not allow your proposal to be accepted. Frankly, Vittorio, not all problems can be solved by the power of the Papacy. You had asked them to recognize nomads as citizens. To be recognized as a citizen means to be a believer, which they are not. You shouldn't be angry at the inevitable." Julio said.

"Really? All my life, it was inevitable for me to be kicked out of my family because a seemingly lack of magical talent. Well, I finally was kicked out but I returned. And rest assured, I will bring the College at its feet and make them accept all nomads as citizens, regardless of their beliefs and practices." Vittorio said. He hadn't raised his voice or done anything to indicate that he was furious. Julio Cesare could only tell that he was from experience.

"Things never go as you want them to, your holiness. I will serve you but remember, if I die in your service, it will be because of your own actions. My blood will be on your hands." Julio warned.

"You hardly need to tell me that. I am ready to spill more." Vittorio said in a tone that would be just as useful in a garden party. Julio looked slightly hurt.

"Vittorio," He said in a gentle tone. "I am your Windalfr and I am glad that I am." Julio found Vittorio casting a wry look on him. "I truly am. You have many flaws but you are neither the Founder nor are you St. Jacob so that is to be expected. But you are also a very gentle man and you care for mankind more than many men do. Who else would propose for the acceptance of nomads as citizens?" Julio said carefully, for fear that he might set off Vittorio.

"St. Jacob, perhaps?" Vittorio chuckled as he suggested.

"So I ask of you to think carefully before jumping into this dangerous game of politics. This is not some petty game played between nobles. You are about to challenge a powerful race if you attempt to retake the Holy Land." Julio said. He wasn't a charismatic speaker. He only spoke as he could.

Vittorio smiled and for the first time, the façade cracked.

"I allied with the Myozunitonirun yesterday, Julio. I am afraid that the game had began several days ago. When Albion fell, to be exact." He said, smiling thinly.

Julio Cesare felt his blood run cold.

_**And that's all folks! Please do tell which part you enjoyed and which you didn't. And the grammar too! A lot of Kirei just for you!**_


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